Trial by Fire (Covencraft Book 1)

by Margarita Gakis

  He cleared his throat, knowing that he had to tell her the truth and desperately wishing he didn’t have to. There were bad times to tell people things and then there were really awful times to tell people things. This was a really awful time. Demons, veiled threats about other witches and now he was going to have to tell her the terms of the council. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

  “No, I mean, you really can’t just leave.”

  Chapter 9

  Jade narrowed her eyes at him. She had a sudden urge to say, ‘Oh no you didn’t!’ to his statement that she couldn't just leave the Coven.

  She could leave. She would leave.

  She didn’t stay places against her will. Not anymore.

  “Watch me,” she said coldly. She turned and, keeping her pace steady and calm, headed for the stairs. She would pack right that moment and leave.

  “Jade.”

  She ignored him, one foot already on the stairs.

  “Jade,” he repeated, louder. “You don’t understand.”

  “I don’t need to understand,” she said, halting her progress but not turning around. “You told me I didn’t have to stay. I’m exercising my right to leave now.”

  “You can’t-”

  She whirled around and stomped over to him, pointing her finger and jabbing it in his chest so hard it made her joints ache. “You don’t get to tell me what to do!”

  “It’s not like that-”

  “I don’t care what it’s like. I make decisions for me, you make decisions for you. That’s how my world works. Now, I don’t know what kind of bullshit you have going on here at your ‘coven,’” she said as she made air quotes around the word, snarling a bit as she did, “but you have no authority over me.”

  “A witch can’t exist outside the Coven.”

  “That’s bullshit. Henri told me there are witches who leave and you said,” she said, jabbing him with her finger again, “that I could leave.”

  He took a small step backwards. “I should clarify. A witch cannot exist outside the Coven with their magic.”

  She paused. “So? What does that mean?”

  “You know of the Supernatural Council, yes?”

  Vaguely, she thought. It was like a United Nations thing for supernatural creatures. There wasn’t really a lot of publicity about it and even if there had been, she hadn’t been interested. It was the same as any other government conglomeration from what she gathered - a lot of politics, red tape and double talk but nothing actually happened.

  “I guess. I know they exist and they have some kind of authority over all you freaks.”

  “Us freaks,” he said, clarifying. “You’re a witch too.”

  “Not by choice,” she said loudly. “And not for much longer.”

  “The Council,” he said, his voice carrying over hers, “was informed of your existence when you started using unsanctioned magic.”

  “It’s not like I was doing it on purpose.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said fiercely.

  She was getting nervous. She didn’t like where this was going. Paris was obviously angry or upset or… Something. She didn’t know him well enough to be sure exactly what he was feeling but he was more worked up than she’d ever seen him in the short time she’d known him.

  “We do not allow magic to be performed outside a coven.”

  “Then I won’t perform it. I have control over it,” she argued, knowing that she was lying. She didn’t have control over it, not totally. She’d learned a lot in a really short time but it was like music lessons in a way. Learning to read music was a hell of a lot different from actually playing the piano.

  Paris looked like he was having a hard time not shouting at her. His eyes were bright blue, brighter than she thought was possible and she wondered, not for the first time, if it was his magic that made them that way. “That’s not how it works. If a witch chooses to leave the Coven he or she is stripped of their power. We break their magic.”

  She felt something twist in her stomach. Well, that was fine. She didn't care. She’d only found out about her magic. She could give it up.

  It didn’t matter, she told herself.

  She still found the words hard to say. “Fine. Take it.”

  Paris shook his head, appearing… Distraught.

  His voice was soft now, quiet and she was more uneasy than when he was almost shouting at her. “I don’t think I can.”

  “I don’t want it,” she lied, knowing as soon as the words fell from her mouth that she didn’t mean them. “Just…” she flapped her hands, “Do it. Whatever it is.”

  “I really don't think I can. Not-” His eyes were sharp and clear. Like with the demon earlier, she wanted to look away but couldn’t. “It’s messy work, breaking someone’s magic. There’s a lot of variables involved. My magic, your magic, the type of magic we both have. How powerful we are. You’re very strong, Jade.”

  “I won’t fight it,” she said weakly. “I know that I’ve said that and I did anyway, but I didn’t know! I know more now. I won’t.”

  “I’m strong but I don’t think I can break your magic. Not without… Hurting you.”

  She felt a shock of fear go through her. “What do you mean, hurting me?”

  Paris looked conflicted, his eyes never leaving hers, even as she took a small step backward. She glanced quickly at the door and his eyes tracked hers.

  “I wouldn’t mean to. I don’t want to,” he said quickly. “But I don’t think I can break your magic without harming you. It might even kill you.”

  She was struck silent and she couldn’t take her eyes off him as he met her stare. Her mind raced as she tried to put everything that had happened together in one, cohesive package she could study.

  She held up her hands, as though she could ward him off. She jerked her thumb out, starting to enumerate her points on her fingers. “So you’re saying that you don’t have any anti-demon magic handy,” she eyeballed him waiting for an answer.

  He shook his head. “None that I know of. But we’ll start looking immediately.”

  “And two,” she said, interrupting him sharply. “I can’t leave. You won’t let me leave.”

  “It’s not exactly that, but yes, I suppose-”

  Jade cut him off again. “Because if I want to leave,” she said as she held up a third finger, “you’d have to take my magic. And you can’t do that without possibly killing me.” A fourth finger came up.

  “Yes.”

  “So get someone else,” she said harshly, curling her fingers into a fist.

  “There is no one else!” Paris shouted and she felt a shock of cold brush over her, slightly painful in its intensity and it felt… Familiar. It hit her suddenly that she’d just felt a bolt of his magic. He appeared to be struggling for a moment, clenching his jaw and his fists. He took a deep breath.

  “I don’t want to take your magic but if I let you leave the Council will send someone else and I… If they can’t do it, I don’t know what them trying would do to you. They could damage you terribly. We’re looking to see if there’s someone else more powerful, but I don’t know.”

  That’s when it hit her that he’d known this was always a possibility. That she would want to leave and they might kill her breaking her magic. Logically, it made perfect sense that he’d already known and maybe everyone she’d met had known, but hearing him say the words, hearing him talk about plans that were made, knowing he’d thought this through… That was when she really felt the full impact of his words.

  It felt like being kicked in the chest.

  They’d lied to her. Not so much in their words but in their welcoming smiles and their friendly actions, all the while knowing this was a possibility and not telling her from the start.

  And then she remembered the demon. It wasn’t like she truly forgot about him, but standing there, arguing with Paris, finding out that she couldn’t just leave, the demon had fallen to the back of her mind for a minute. He r
eturned to the front of her brain with a vengeance. She thought about his words - half-told stories about another witch in the Coven who was interested in her, whatever that meant.

  Given everything she’d just found out, she was going to assume it was a very, very depraved thing.

  She’d been stupid. God she’d been so stupid to think that it would all work out. That she could be happy here. That maybe she’d finally found a place she belonged. Found some people who could maybe someday be a sort of family.

  She was so fucking stupid.

  It was her against… Everything. Everyone. It always had been. Ever since…

  No.

  She was not going to start dredging up things that needed to stay dead and buried. Not now. She had a metric fuck-ton of problems, here in the present, without borrowing from her past. She needed to think, she needed to get her shit together and figure this out.

  Step one: she needed to know if there was a way to keep a demon out of the house.

  She suppressed her feelings. There was no time to feel sorry for herself.

  She looked Paris dead in the eye. “Is there some kind of spell or, I don’t know,” she fumbled for the right words, “a ward to keep that demon out of here? A way to close the portal, if that’s what he’s using? Crazy glue it shut, anything?”

  “What?” Paris asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “Jade, we were talking about your magic.”

  “I know what we were talking about,” she snapped. “But I have to fucking triage this mess and keeping that demon out is priority number one. I’ll think about you witchy lot and your lies,” she said, spitting the words, “in a moment. First things first. Spells to keep the demon away?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then make yourself useful and figure one out.” She remembered what Callie had told her on the train here. “You’re supposed to be the most powerful witch in this goddamn coven, so pony up and show me some magic.”

  He swallowed hard, “I will try.”

  His words sounded like it was a promise to her, some kind of vow. She could see the guilt and regret written on his face but she didn’t care what his intentions were.

  “You’d better do more than try,” Jade warned.

  She squared her shoulders. Now for item two. The best defense is a good offense. She was usually a fair judge of people, sizing them up right away. Maybe she’d let herself be blinded by the bright, shiny baubles of magic and belonging, but no more.

  “Next. I want to know everything there is to know about every one of you witchy freaks. I mean it. I want the gossip from Henri, I want files from your little coven business, I want you to sit down and tell me everything you know about everybody. I don’t care if I have to sit in a room and have everyone come by one at a time. I want to look each one of you in the eye. If one of you is out to get me, I’ll get you first.”

  “We don’t know that the demon is telling the truth.”

  “Don’t!” Jade shouted. “The only thing I know for sure is that you’re a liar. You lied to me and I’m painting the rest of your coven with that brush.”

  “I didn’t lie to you, Jade. I didn’t know how powerful you would be when we first met. I didn’t know it was going to be an issue.”

  “And when you did?”

  Paris swallowed thickly but didn’t break her gaze. “I should have told you but I never lied to you. I just didn’t have all the facts.”

  She cocked her head slightly. “Yeah, when you catch people lying, they always have all kinds of excuses.” Her tone was biting, acerbic.

  He took her words like they were a blow, stiffening at them. He finally nodded. “I’ll help you any way I can.”

  “I don’t want your help. I just want to know what you know.”

  He nodded again, his face somber.

  Jade felt calmer, more steady. She could do this. She had a plan. She was smart and apparently so powerful that they couldn’t take her magic. She was stronger than them. She took a moment to try and feel that power, let that knowledge sit in her bones, fill in the spaces and holes inside her. Though she didn’t have mastery over her magic, she could learn.

  And maybe, once she understood her power, it wouldn’t matter what their rules or agreements or governments said. If she was strong enough, powerful enough, they wouldn’t be able to tell her what to do.

  She would tell them.

  “Jade, I -”

  “You’ve said more than enough tonight. So unless you’ve got something useful to tell me, some other bombshell you’ve been saving for a special moment, zip it. Your platitudes don’t do me any good.”

  He pursed his lips tightly and nodded formally. “I’ll contact Hannah. She’s the most knowledgeable witch I know. If there’s a spell or a ward to be found, she’ll know it. She’ll be able to work it as well. She can teach me.”

  “Teach us.” Jade clarified. “You,” she said as she made a circular motion with her pointed finger, “just became a full disclosure spell-teacher. If you learn it, I learn it.”

  He opened his mouth as if he was going to argue and then shut it very quickly. “Very well.”

  She felt a rush of strength. Not magic or supernatural, just personal power. She was telling him things, dictating things and he was agreeing. It made her feel steadier, more in control. Whether he was doing it because he was afraid, regretful or just wanting to make amends, she didn’t care.

  All that mattered was she was in control now.

  And she was going to keep it that way.

  Information. She needed more information. All the information she could get her hands on. What did she already know?

  “You keep the majority of your spell-books in your library, correct?” she asked, remembering what Callie had said on her first day at the Coven. “In the old dungeon?”

  Jesus, the fact they’d needed a dungeon at some point in their history really should have tipped her off that this was all going to go pear-shaped.

  He blinked at her change in topic again. “Yes.”

  “Then we’re going,” she said, heading upstairs to change.

  “Right now? It’s the middle of the night.”

  She paused on the stairway, turning back to face him. “You got something better to do than keep me safe from a demon? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t.”

  “If you’d like to get some rest, I can stay here. On the sofa.” He added the last bit at her incredulous face. “And keep watch.”

  “Pass,” she said harshly. “Funny how I don’t feel particularly sleepy after being woken up by a demon and then finding out I’ve been lied to. I’m feeling a bit riled up. I’m just a delicate fucking flower.”

  “You’ll have to sleep sometime.”

  His words could have been interpreted as a threat, but the look on his face, the tone of his voice was compassionate, kind.

  It just worked as a bellows to her rage and she refused to buy into it.

  Jade smirked. “Based on prior experience, not for at least twenty more hours. So I guess that’s how long you have to come up with a demon-warding spell that will keep me safe while I sleep.”

  “I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you.”

  She turned her back on his earnest eyes and committed tone and stalked up the stairs, calling over her shoulder as she did.

  “Again, pass. I won’t let anyone or anything hurt me. You’re just along for the ride.”

  *

  Paris was astonished at the speed at which she moved. Jade came back down the stairs not three minutes after she left, hair in a messy ponytail, wearing jeans and a dark grey hoodie that managed to cover the blossoming bruises on her wrists but barely concealed the ones encircling her neck. With her hair pulled up out of the way, the puncture wounds stood out, bright red and angry.

  He wanted to suggest calling Gellar again but Jade caught him looking and narrowed her eyes. A laptop bag was already slung over her shoulder and she stuffed her power cord in it at the same time as she unceremonious
ly pushed her feet into tennis shoes and then looked at him askance.

  “Pitter-patter,” she said and she actually snapped her fingers harshly at him. “Let’s get at ‘er.”

  While she’d not been overly friendly before, this sharper, harder Jade was surprising.

  And disappointing.

  He’d known that not telling her the whole truth had been a gamble but he never expected anything remotely as serious or foreboding as a demon attack. Also, being the Coven Leader had him accustomed to not sharing the full details of issues when it wasn’t necessary or when it would lead to more complications.

  A fact he was sorely regretting at that moment.

  She had only just come to the Coven, only just discovered she was a witch. If she got it in her head to try to leave, the Council could send someone to break her magic and end up killing her. If he did end up finding a way to break her power, she would absolutely take that option, never believing any of the benefits the Coven could offer.

  If they couldn’t find a way to break her power and she had to stay with them, it was the worst possible beginning for her to join their coven family. Her first foray into their world was now filled with deception and fear.

  Paris didn’t know if they could get over that.

  If she could get over that.

  She grabbed a few more things - her purse and her phone and then she was out the door, not checking behind her to see if he followed.

  He followed.

  “Do you have your keys?” Paris asked. “To lock up?”

  She turned back and gave him an edged look. “I don’t think the demon cares if I bolt the front door. And I don’t trust that someone else in your coven doesn’t already have a key. But if it makes you feel better…” She rummaged around in her purse and then lobbed the keys at him. “Knock yourself out, English.”