I look around the table at all the faces. Some I know well, some are more recently familiar, and some I’ve never seen before. A dark-haired girl who appears to be about my age sits to Sarah’s left, and two blond women who look enough alike to be sisters sit across from each other.
“Which will be a big task,” Sarah says. “But hopefully possible. And we’re going to start by clearing the air. I know we all have questions, so let’s get those taken care of as we eat so that the real work can commence.”
“Where are we?” Keller asks. “I get the sense it’s underground.”
“It is, but you’ll understand if I don’t elaborate. You don’t stay hidden from dark covens without being very, very careful.” Sarah points toward the bowls of food placed down the middle of the table. “I know you all have to be hungry. Eat. No one works well on an empty stomach, and we all need to be alert and at peak condition.” Sarah dips mashed potatoes onto her plate then passes the bowl to Amanda.
When the plates and bowls reach me, I mechanically place helpings onto my plate but can’t imagine being able to eat them despite my grumbling stomach. How can I do something as mundane as eat when the guy I love hates me? When my best friend is scared of me? When I’m filled with huge, freaking doubts that I’ll be able to accomplish everything I want to despite my current determination? Will my resolve still be there when the Bane take off my bracelet?
“Are all of you descendants of those original four girls who ran away?” Toni asks, breaking into my careening thoughts.
Sarah nods then points to her right. “Amanda is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Woodley.” Next she indicates the two blond women. “Caren and Hope are descended from Jane Burkes. Vera Dewey’s line died out a couple of generations ago.” She points to the pretty brunette girl, the youngest of the Bane. “Piper is my niece. I don’t have my own children.”
I meet Piper’s dark eyes.
“My mother died when I was three,” she says.
“I’m sorry.” I know what it’s like to miss a mother taken too soon.
“For various reasons, there are fewer of us than there used to be,” Sarah says. “Only direct descendants of those first four Bane have any power whatsoever, and some throughout history have chosen not to embrace it. We’ve wanted to end the coven menace for ages, but there are way too many dark witches walking this earth and too few of us.”
“But maybe that changes now,” Caren says, looking at me with more hope than I’ve seen from anyone at this table today. Of course, she wasn’t there at the cemetery. She didn’t see me at my worst.
“Can we put ourselves at that much risk?” Hope asks, looking at things from a different angle than her sister.
“We can’t very well stay down here and hide forever,” Piper says. “Jax isn’t facing a threat down here. None of us knows how we would react if our dearest friends’ lives were in danger.” Piper looks at her aunt. “Can you honestly say you wouldn’t kill to protect me?” She shifts her gaze to Hope. “What about you? If a gunman was shooting at Caren, would you do nothing?”
“She can do it.”
My heart thuds hard against my ribs at Keller’s words. I try to temper my hope, but it proves useless. Those four words make it explode beyond the confines of my heart. I shift my gaze to him, praying I haven’t imagined what he said. And there in his eyes I see an ember of understanding and maybe the possibility of eventual forgiveness.
“I’ve spent my entire life being told that human life is sacred and anything unnatural that kills humans is evil and should be put down,” he says while I almost forget how to breathe. “But I’ve learned that everything isn’t always so black and white.”
“You condone her killing the hunter?” Amanda asks.
“No, but . . .” He looks toward me, and for a long moment our gazes meet and hold. “I think we all sometimes reach a breaking point. We’re pushed beyond it by stress and grief. Jax was fighting hard against her nature, barely holding it together but still winning until Barrow pointed his gun at me. I think that’s what sent her over the edge.”
He understands. Tears spill over and run down my cheeks until he grows blurry. I look down and quickly wipe them away. If these people are giving me a second chance, if whether they live or die is in my hands, I have to be strong. And I have no time for tears.
I want to touch Keller, to have him hold me, but now is not the time. I force myself to look away from him, and when I do a question hits me. One that should have been front and center long before now.
“What happened to Barrow’s body?”
“We took care of it,” Amanda says.
“Took care of it?” I scan the faces of the Bane. “You got rid of a body?”
“We couldn’t leave him there to be found, leading to unwanted questions by the local authorities, his fellow hunters or the covens,” Sarah says. “Now, back to the more important topic, your status as a white witch. It’s time you know the full extent of your history. Maybe, somehow, it will help us in the days ahead.”
Though I’m still very aware of Keller watching me from across the table, I focus all of my attention on Sarah and the other members of the Bane.
“There was one in the first generation of dark witches.” Sarah says. “You know about the four original members of the Bane, but what you don’t know is that there should have been a fifth. Anne Reedy was the original white witch, but she was killed before she could come fully into her power. She was friends with Penelope, Elizabeth, Jane and Vera, so they knew they had to flee or risk death, too.”
“They were all white witches?” I ask.
Sarah shakes her head. “No. Though they tried to find a way to be. Penelope risked her life to sneak back into Salem after she’d fled. She’d heard about two books that appeared magically when the first of the dark witches made their conversion.”
My gaze shoots to Keller’s then Toni’s, and Egan shifts in his seat beside me.
“I see you also know about the Beginning and Ending books,” Sarah says. “These books hold the tale of the covens’ births and tell how to bring about their demise. Penelope was able to steal them both, but she was nearly caught. The only thing that saved her was her friendship with a boy from one of the witch families that hadn’t yet made the conversion, one that would end up not doing so. Benjamin Latimer hid her in his family’s barn for several days.”
“Latimer,” I say. “Rule’s family?”
Sarah nods. “During that time, she read the entirety of the Beginning Book but she couldn’t read the Ending Book. It was in a language she didn’t recognize.”
I do my best not to react to this part of the story. I’m not ready to reveal that I have seen this book and can read it. Even with everything Sarah is telling us, I sense she’s holding something back. Just in case I need something in reserve too, I’m keeping mum about the books—at least until I feel like sharing that information will help us all in our eventual goal.
“Even without being able to read the second book, Penelope got a feeling that they were too dangerous to let fall into the wrong hands and should never be kept in the same place.”
Sarah stops moving food around on her plate and places her hands atop the arms of her chair. “Benjamin came to tell her that his family was fleeing. She gave him the Ending Book for safekeeping.”
“And she kept the Beginning Book,” I say. “So how did it end up lost?”
“Penelope and her friends moved away, too. It was too dangerous to stay anywhere near Salem in those days. Twenty years went by before Penelope told the others about the books. The Beginning Book was passed down through the Davenport line for years until it was lost during a cholera epidemic during the 1800s. One of my ancestors, Marva Davenport, was on a wagon train to California when she was struck with cholera. She was left behind to die. She beat the disease and survived, but not before she’d wandered away from her possessions while running a high fever.”
“And the book was lost,” I say.
>
Sarah nods. “When Marva recovered, she was so hurt by the fact that her family had left her to die that she didn’t try to find them. She made her way back to Salem. She located the descendants of the other three original Bane, and they came back, too, though they kept a very low profile.”
“They up and left their lives to move back here? Why?” Egan asks.
“Why did you come here?”
“For answers,” I say.
“Since the days of the Salem witch trials, any witch descended from the original dark witches feels drawn here. They might not realize that is what they are feeling, and I suspect the covens have done a good job over the centuries of trying to root out that yearning because of the territorial nature of dark witches.” Sarah taps her knuckles against the chair arms. “There is something none of us understand at play, something rooted in the earth’s way of keeping balance. Even though there are other fissures in the earth where dark magic seeps to the surface, I believe none of them are stronger than the one here where the first covens drew their power. Because of its strength, I think it serves as a sort of homing beacon for dark witches. It would have eventually brought them all back to Salem, even without Jax’s surge of magic.”
My stomach churns at the idea. “Just not as soon.”
Sarah shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. I think the earth has been out of balance too long, and that’s why you were drawn here. I have researched extensively about witchcraft and dark forces around the globe. One thing I’ve noticed is that the world is like a pendulum. Nature will only let things swing one way for so long before they are brought back toward the middle.”
I remember the conversation I had with Fiona about this very thing, balance. It’s coming up too often for it to be a coincidence. “So somehow you believe what’s happening now is the beginning of the pendulum swinging back?”
Sarah looks at me, then at everyone else in the room. “I do.” As is her habit, Sarah stands and begins walking around the room as she continues. “You asked how the Bane came into being, if we are dark witches. The answer is yes and no. Back when Anne Reedy died, she didn’t even know about white witches. None of the girls did until Penelope stole those books. The Beginning Book said that in each generation of witches one would be born with the ability to choose to become a white witch, a witch who could bring the supernatural power back into balance.”
I glance at Egan and Keller and see they realize the same thing I do, that what Sarah is saying came either from another source or the missing page of the Beginning Book.
“Penelope and the other girls were sure one of them was the white witch, so they went to the spot where the original covens had drawn out their dark power. They did a spell they thought would allow them to put the dark power back where it came from, but the spell backfired. Their power became really unstable, and they were almost caught fleeing again. Benjamin Latimer came to the rescue a second time. When his family fled, he told Penelope where they were going. So she led the girls to his doorstep.”
Keller leans back in his seat. “Why would he have told her that? She was a dark witch and a danger to his family.”
The answer comes to me with absolute certainty. “Because he loved her.”
Sarah nods. “Love makes us do crazy things, even putting our lives on the line to protect the ones we love.”
Keller meets my eyes. He’s given up a lot for me in the name of love. I risk a small smile, trying to tell him without words how much he means to me. What his sacrifices mean.
“But you all already know that,” Sarah says. “Benjamin convinced his mother to try to help the girls, but at a price. After she helped them, they would have to leave and never contact her family again.”
Sadness wells within me at the cost. “Did Penelope love Benjamin, too?”
“She was beginning to, but it was too dangerous for them to be together. She knew that, and she knew that without his mother’s help she and her friends might end up hurting him and his family.”
“So she agreed to the condition.”
“Yes, without Benjamin’s knowledge. Mr. Latimer was a silversmith, so his wife had him make four bracelets. When he was done, she washed them in a combination of water and herbs meant to ward off evil. It was simple earth magic, but it was enough to settle the girls’ unstable power. Benjamin’s mother told him that she needed more herbs to help the girls, and when he was out in the woods gathering them the girls left. Penelope watched him for awhile, saw how angry he was with his mother. It broke her heart, so one night she left him a note telling him to forgive his mother because she saved Penelope and her friends. And that he should live a good life and be happy. That night Penelope and her friends left the area.”
As a lull settles on the room, I try to sift through all of the information that’s been revealed tonight and what else there is still to learn.
“I’m confused,” Egan says, interrupting the lull. “If Penelope and her friends thought one of them was the white witch, how did they figure out it was actually the other chick?”
“That came years later, and quite by accident. With the books gone and Anne dead, the founders of the covens thought they’d eliminated any knowledge of white witches and thus any potential for dissent among the ranks. What they didn’t know was that Anne’s younger sister had witnessed her death.”
A jolt goes through me. The poor child.
“Anne’s father was forcing her to practice with her new dark magic, and she didn’t want to. It didn’t feel right to her,” Sarah says. “But he kept pushing until she got so angry that something else showed itself.”
“Her white magic,” I say. My skin tingles with the revelation. I know exactly what Anne felt, that rush of massive power, the intense brightness as the light exploded within me. My heart sinks. I can’t feel that now, and a large part of me is scared to try to find it again even though I know I have to.
“The founders who had read the Beginning Book knew what she was. They called a meeting of all the heads of the dark covens, a Conclave, to discuss what to do. It was decided that Anne had to be put to death. And so she was, her neck snapped by her own father as her sister watched through a crack in the door. The little girl was so frightened that she never spoke of it, not until she was old and nearing death herself. That’s when she told her daughters and granddaughters the story.”
“Legend says that each generation has a potential white witch,” Piper adds. “Every ten years the covens hold a Conclave to determine if anyone has identified that generation’s potential white witch.”
“Wait,” Egan says. “We know about these Conclaves. They’re held to conduct inter-coven business, arrange marriages between covens to form alliances.” He glances at me. “Our fathers had that plan up their sleeves before we flew the coop.”
Piper looks at him. “I’m sure they do those things, but the main reason is the white witch threat.”
“What is the threat?” I ask.
“All we know is that if a white witch comes into her full powers, she’s supposed to be able to defeat the covens,” Sarah says.
“How?” I ask.
“That knowledge was lost along with the Beginning Book.”
Egan curses. “You better hope that this harness hasn’t caused us to lose this generation’s chance to defeat them.”
A vibration starts in my wrist and travels up my arm. For a brief moment, I swear I feel the prickle of electricity at my fingertips. Unable to sit still, I stand and pace the length of the room. My brain feels like it’s on the verge of overload as I think back over everything Sarah has told us. I catch myself running my fingertips over the silver bracelet. I turn and meet Sarah’s gaze across the room. “Let’s find out.”
Sarah shakes her head. “Not now.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s been a very long day and we all need rest.”
“I can rest later when I don’t have a bunch of angry witches itching to kill me and anyone else who gets in their
way.”
Sarah levels her most serious look at me. “Do you feel strong enough to resist the full force of your dark magic right now? Answer me honestly.”
I open my mouth but stop when I meet Keller’s eyes. I imagine doing to him what I did to Amos Barrow, all because I make a stupid move. Reluctantly, I shake my head. “No.”
“Then tomorrow morning is soon enough.”
Though it kills me to admit it, to do nothing, I know she’s right. If waiting until the morning will help ensure I don’t accidentally kill everyone around me, then I’ll wait.
Chapter Four
When Sarah and the other adult members of the Bane head out of the room after dinner, I look at my friends in confusion.
Piper steps forward. “Jax, you’ll be in a room with Toni. Egan, you’ll be with Keller. You’re free to move about on your own now.”
“Really?” Egan says. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll leave?”
Piper shifts her attention from me to him, and I notice that Toni wraps her hand around Egan’s. Piper is very pretty with long, silky black hair and a flawless face. I find myself wanting to pull Keller to me, far away from her.
“You can’t leave,” Piper says. “The facility is spelled.”
Egan shifts from one foot to the other. “So we’re still prisoners?”
“Don’t think of it that way.”
“What would you call being held somewhere against your will?”
“Protection, for all of us. You included. Down here, the covens can’t detect you. It will give us time to ready a battle plan.”
If I hadn’t led the life I have, hearing a beautiful girl like Piper talk about battle plans would seem ridiculous. As it is, I realize she and I probably have more in common than not. That still doesn’t make me trust her in a room alone with Keller, even if Keller isn’t my biggest fan right now.
Magick (Book 3 in the Coven Series) Page 4