Trial by Fire (Covencraft Book 1)

by Margarita Gakis

  Callie gave her a confused look for a moment and then laughed. “No, oh God, no. We grew up together, so I’m probably a little more relaxed around him than other coven members. But,” Callie said as she shook her head, blonde hair swinging around her face, “definitely no.”

  “Oh.” Jade shrugged. “Well, it was only coffee. Frankly, I probably could have gone without it but the fact that he was telling me outright that I couldn’t go… It pissed me off. I don’t like being told what I can and cannot do.”

  Callie’s smile was hidden behind her coffee cup. “Oh, you’re going to love the Coven,” she said sardonically.

  “Why? Is everyone like that?”

  Callie shook her head. “No, no, it’s just that, we have rules. Our magic comes with strings attached, I guess you could say.”

  “What kind of strings?” Jade asked, eyes narrowing.

  “It’ll be easier to explain once we get there.”

  Jade made a noncommittal sound and watched Callie’s face carefully. She didn’t sense any malice - but the thought of going to a controlled environment, one where she didn’t set the rules and limits, made her uneasy. She reminded herself again that if she didn’t like it, she could leave. She wasn’t a child.

  If she wanted out of a situation, she could go.

  Like a mantra, she repeated the words to herself. She didn’t have to stay anywhere she didn’t want to. She wasn’t obligated to join their coven.

  Even if she would be the only witch ever not to be part of a coven, she could do that. She could leave.

  The more she reminded herself she wasn’t trapped, she could leave any time she wanted, the better she felt.

  “You must be curious about your powers,” Callie said. “If you had any questions, I’m sure Paris would be happy to answer them for you. He might seem like a grouch, but when it comes to things about magic - he’ll always help.”

  “Why Paris? Why not you?”

  “Oh, I’m not nearly powerful enough to teach you. I mean, I could answer some questions for you sure, but as far as assisting you with your magic? Paris will be teaching you.”

  Jade fingered the sleeve of her coffee cup. “Isn’t that a little bit of busy work for someone who runs the place?”

  “Maybe,” Callie said with a bit of a sheepish grin. “But, given what we knew about you, it seemed like you would, well, you know, need someone who was maybe a bit more, I don’t know…” Callie fumbled for her words and Jade stiffened slightly. “You seem a little, intense,” she finally finished. “It seemed like you would need someone more …” again Callie fumbled and finally gave a little toss of her hands, like she was throwing caution to the wind. “Paris won’t take a lot of shit.”

  Jade gave a sharp laugh at that. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “We’re not afraid of you,” Callie said, placing a hand gently on Jade’s arm. “I don’t want you to think that or feel uncomfortable. It’s just that your circumstances are really unusual. And frankly, sitting next to you, I can feel how powerful you already are. That’s quite unusual.”

  Jade frowned. “What do you mean? What do you feel?”

  Callie squinted her eyes a little. “It’s almost like… You hum. The way electronic devices hum. Like a television or a computer-” she trailed off. “No, that’s not quite right. Like a generator. That’s it. You hum like you’re an electrical generator.”

  Jade nodded. “Oh. So does Paris.”

  “You can feel that already?” Callie asked, surprise written on her face.

  “Is that weird?”

  Callie shook her head but Jade got the impression that it was weird and Callie was trying to make her feel better about it. “No, no. It’s just… Surprising. You haven’t been trained at all yet and it usually takes people a while to be able to sense that kind of thing.”

  “You and Paris have lived at the Coven your whole life, right?”

  Callie nodded. “Yeah, I was born there. Paris’ mother took over when Paris was about five or so.”

  “You’ve been able to do… Magic,” Jade said almost hesitantly, “since you were little?”

  “Yup. My parents are witches so they taught me some stuff and then I learned the rest at school.”

  “Like, witch school?”

  Callie laughed softly and looked a little rueful. “Yeah, it’s not like Harry Potter. We had regular classes - math, science, language arts. But we also had magic classes. It’s a good way to make sure everyone learns good witchcraft habits. You know, like the best ingredients for stuff, or cleaning up after your spells, or how to counter-hex yourself if something goes wrong. Like one of the kids hexed their hair to grow faster because she wanted it long, but she didn’t specify a length, so it kept growing and growing and it was over eight feet long before her parents counter-hexed it. We learn how to research spells, where to look stuff up. I work in the library and part of my job is cataloguing and indexing our spell-books.”

  “Big library?” Jade asked for lack of anything to add.

  Callie sported pride on her face. “Yes, we have quite a collection of books. Spell-books, spell-bindings, talisman recognition, history collections, that sort of thing. There is also a small assortment of artifacts that must be kept under lock and key, and I am in charge of that also.”

  The compartment car door slid open and Paris entered, giving them both a brief glance before taking his seat. He didn’t look like he’d been up until three in the morning, thought Jade, so maybe she had woken him up when he called. Or maybe he was just one of those people that always appeared put-together.

  Bastard.

  “I’ve made arrangements at the Coven for Dr. Gellar when we arrive,” Paris said, pulling out his laptop and setting it up on a little tray in front of him.

  Jade made a face. “Why?”

  Paris didn’t look up from his computer. “Everyone has to have a baseline physical on file. Just in case.”

  “In case of what?”

  She saw Callie shrug next to her. “In case you walk down the street and get hit by a bus, I guess.”

  “I’m pretty good at avoiding buses. And I’m in perfect health. I don’t need to see a doctor,” Jade said.

  “Dr. Gellar is the Coven doctor. She deals with all the witches and is cognizant of your magic, should anything happen to you. It’s quite useful to have someone so aware of our unique needs on hand. You’ll also be getting your baseline powers tested.” Paris added.

  “Is this the kind of test I should be studying for?” Jade asked.

  Paris ignored her sarcasm. “We test all witches to see what their potential is. Then we can adequately provide mentorship for them.”

  “I hear I’ve already got an adequately provided mentor. You.”

  “By all indications it would appear that I am the only one in the Coven that will be powerful enough to train you tolerably.”

  She made a dramatic face, full of mocking awe. “You are such a charmer.”

  He gave her a disapproving look she chose to disregard. She gazed out the window for a few moments before speaking again. “So, then what?”

  Callie answered her this time. “We’ll probably have to spend the rest of the day processing your paperwork.”

  “Paperwork? What kind of paperwork?”

  “Well, we’ll have to register you in the system, assign you a coven email account, access to the intranet, fill in the papers for your accommodations, any necessities you require, issue your coven identification and spell-license. That sort of stuff.”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Jade said with a shake of her head. “I might not be staying.” The thought of getting tied up in all their administrivia had her feeling like she wanted to bolt. Paperwork meant attachment, attachment meant she couldn't leave as easily.

  “Callie, we can bore Jade on the infrastructure of the Coven when we get there. There’s no need to do it now.”

  Jade got the impression he knew exactly what she was thinking and was trying to keep her
from freaking out about it.

  “I’m just telling her what she can expect,” Callie said in that annoyed tone people use with their friends. “And then you’re probably going to want to get settled so the rest of the evening you can unpack, look around. Get the lay of the land.”

  “Huh. I might not unpack just yet. I don’t know if I’ll like it,” she said simply.

  “But you have to like it,” Callie said earnestly, flashing her wide, innocent brown cow eyes. “You’re one of us.”

  “Well, we’ve already established that I’m different. Maybe I won’t. You said I didn’t have to stay if I didn’t want to.” The last part of her statement was directed at Paris accusingly.

  “And so you don’t. But give it try first, Jade,” Paris said.

  She weighed his statement in her mind and then finally gave a small nod. “I said I would. I do what I say I will.” She picked up her e-reader and held it up. She’d learned well how to make her posture clearly state I’m done talking right now.

  “I’m sure you do,” Paris said as he flicked his paper again and went back to reading.

  Callie looked back and forth at the two of them intently. “You’ll like it,” she said, even though Jade had clearly exited the conversation. “I know you will.”

  Chapter 5

  It was evening by the time they made it to the Coven proper. They picked up Paris’ car at the train depot and, after an exercise in spatial relations which Jade won, they managed to fit their luggage into the trunk and three quarters of the back seat. Callie was jammed in between three bags full of books, her two suitcases and the side door, leaving Jade in the front seat with Paris, separated by two carry-on cases and Callie’s makeup case. Paris muttered something under his breath as his elbow hit the makeup case hard while trying to negotiate a left turn.

  “What was that?” Callie piped from the back seat.

  “I said,” Paris said in what Jade was now internally calling his ‘I’m not happy about this’ tone, “next time I’m leaving you at the Coven.”

  “Promises, promises,” Callie replied, waving her hand dismissively.

  “Are we there yet, English?” Jade asked with a bored tone.

  “Almost. Another twenty minutes.”

  Paris made good on his word and almost exactly twenty minutes later, Jade saw the sign proclaiming the Coven was a couple kilometers ahead. She knew from what she’d read online that it was quite a touristy thing to check out what was called the Covenstead - the main coven building where the majority of the Coven would gather for events or for learning and practicing magic. There had been some pictures online of other covensteads, but Jade hadn’t been able to find a pic for the one she was heading to now.

  Jade wasn’t sure what to make of that fact - did that mean that no one had cared enough to get a picture? Did it mean that the Coven was small and didn’t have a notable covenstead? Or maybe the Coven was so large it had enough resources to keep photos of their covenstead from being published. At any rate, she had no idea what to expect.

  The city, from what she’d seen out her window, resembled most others she’d visited: buildings, coffee shops, parks, people milling about doing their everyday business. They drove past the downtown and more populated areas and pulled up to a set of wrought iron gates that appeared to have nothing behind them but trees and a wide open expanse. Paris leaned out his window and punched a code into a security box. The gates swung open slowly with a loud creak and they drove slowly past the entry and then down a long, winding driveway. Finally, the trees broke and Jade was speechless.

  The building they approached was postcard worthy. It was three stories high, made out of dark gray stone - weather-beaten and worn, but gothically imposing and impressive to behold. Windows lined each floor and statuary adorned the areas between the glass panes. As the car rolled up, Jade could feel the building, as if it had a presence, a personality of its own. It reminded her of buildings she’d seen only in movies or on TV. It stood as a monolith in front of her. Massive, dark, almost foreboding.

  “Is this yours?” she asked quietly, afraid the building would hear her.

  “Yes,” Paris said with a hint of pride as he pulled up the long stone driveway to the double doors of the building. “This is our Covenstead. Built when the Coven first moved here, it was once our home. Back then, all the witches in the Coven would have lived in the one building. We now use the old bedrooms for our offices.”

  “The library takes up the entire cellar and former dungeon,” Callie said, her tone equally prideful. They weren’t arrogant about it, Jade thought. Both of them just seemed discreetly pleased, sitting up slightly straighter, proud of their covenstead.

  “Dungeon?” Jade queried, unsure of herself for the millionth time that day.

  “Well, it was built five hundred years ago,” Callie explained. “They had use of a dungeon back then. There is also a great hall, a ball room, dining hall and a greenhouse.”

  “How many witches are in your coven?” she asked carefully.

  “About two hundred.”

  “Holy shit.” Jade breathed the curse; it was all she could manage.

  Paris slowed the car to a stop and he and Callie stepped out. Jade was stuck frozen in her seat, wondering again what she was getting into. It was the sight of the building in front of her - solid and palpable, coupled with everything leading up to her arriving that had her thinking, this is very real now. The building made it tangible.

  Jade looked up at Paris and Callie waiting patiently for her. She snapped off her seat belt and stepped slowly out of the car. She felt out of place, gauche. She smoothed her hands over her jeans and tried to shake off the feeling as she trailed after Callie and Paris, up the stone steps and into the building.

  It was surprisingly modern on the inside with bright lights and a circular front reception desk. The desk dominated the middle of the marble foyer and there was a young man sitting behind it, talking on the phone. He looked up quickly at Paris.

  “Got to go,” he rasped into the phone. “She’s here!”

  He slammed the phone down and sat up straighter in his chair, fluffing his out of control hair. It was about as subtle as a brick through a window. Jade glanced over at Callie and saw her smiling fondly. Paris had an amused look on his face, like those generally reserved for clumsy puppies that ate your guests’ shoes - slightly embarrassing, but still kind of cute.

  “Henri,” Paris said in greeting. “Working late?”

  Henri grinned. “I wasn’t about to leave until you showed up,” he said quickly, leaning off to his left quite obviously attempting to get a better look at the newcomer. “Marcus wants you to call him.”

  “Marcus can wait. Is Dr. Gellar still here?”

  “Yes, she said she would wait for you to arrive.”

  “Would you let her know we’re on our way up?”

  “Yes, of course,” Henri said, glancing quickly up at Paris and then back at Jade. It was obvious he was dying for an introduction and Paris didn’t disappoint him.

  “Jade,” he said, turning toward her. “This is Henri, Henri, this is-”

  “I cannot believe I am the first person in the Coven to meet you,” Henri interrupted as he leaned up and over his desk, shoving his hand past Paris and in front of Jade for a handshake. She started slightly and then gave it a good grip. “I am the first person you’ve met right?” Henri added quizzically.

  “Seeing as I just walked in, yes,” Jade replied. Again she thought of a puppy as she regarded him. He was all excitable energy and enthusiasm, his dark eyes shining as he met her.

  “Unreal!” he exclaimed. “I was just talking to my boyfriend on the phone and I was saying how I thought you would be here any minute and now, here you are!”

  “Here I am,” she repeated. He was still pumping her hand up and down in a vigorous handshake when she pulled it free with a slight tug.

  “Unreal!” he said again. “Do you know, we’ve all been dying to see you? Thi
s is the most exciting thing to happen to the Coven since Jolene set her own house on fire. She wasn’t in it at the time, thank God, but whoa, what a scene. But now there’s you! It’s been all very cryptic, you know. Very hush-hush. No one knows a damned thing about you, really. Except you’re very neat.”

  “Neat?” she asked.

  “You know. Tidy.”

  “What?!” she glanced from Henri to Callie to Paris, who wore equally matching confused faces, and back again.

  “My boyfriend Daniel knows someone in Accounting who is dating someone who works with Nick, who’s Callie’s boyfriend and he said that he overheard Callie on the speakerphone with Nick and Callie said that the only thing that Paris had said about you was that you were very neat. Is it true?”

  Jade gave her head a little shake. “What?” she repeated again.

  Henri took a big breath, about to explain again how he had come by that little tidbit of information, but Paris cut him off.

  “Henri,” he said with his impressive tone. “Dr. Gellar?”

  “Right,” Henri said with a slight flick of his hand. “I’ll tell her you’re on your way.”

  Paris placed his hand on Jade’s arm and gave her a slight pull to follow him. She let herself be led off to the left, circling around the welcome desk. Jade could hear Henri paging Dr. Gellar on the phone and then, seconds later, he was back on it with his boyfriend giving him all the dirt on her arrival, down to what she was wearing. Callie fell into step with Jade as they started up a large, sweeping staircase that climbed ten steps before it reached a landing, splitting there into two separate staircases, one for either wing of the Covenstead.

  “And that was our head receptionist and lead coven gossip, Henri,” Callie said with a smile. “If there is anything worth knowing going on in the Coven, Henri will know. And he’ll be more than happy to tell you, your friend, your second cousin twice-removed, and anyone in earshot.”

  “I’ll remember to watch what I say,” Jade said.

  Callie smiled. “I would do that. The strange thing is, he’s really very trustworthy. If you tell him something’s a secret, or if he thinks it’s too malicious, he’ll take it to the grave. However, if you tell him you think so-and-so has a crappy wind incantation, they’ll hear it by lunch time.”