by Jen McConnel
“You know,” Izzy finally said, “I think I’m beginning to see the pattern.”
“What do you mean?”
She took a careful sip. “Well, think about it. When you didn’t defeat that girl the first time, Hecate realized that only another Red Witch had the power to destroy you.”
“So?”
“So, think about your trip to Scotland. When they took Marcus, what do you think they wanted to happen?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t explained the truth about Marcus’s disappearance to Izzy, but it didn’t matter now. Let her think he’d been taken against his will; even if he hadn’t, he’d still ended up a prisoner. “That I’d try to save him?”
She shook her head. “Sort of. But what if they wanted you to try, but fail?”
Realization slowly dawned on me. “He was held prisoner in the Otherworld. If anything had happened to me there—”
“You would have died instantly. You weren’t able to use your magic, remember?”
I nodded, feeling queasy. “But I didn’t die.”
“No. You didn’t.” She squeezed my hand. “You saved my brother, and then he started to help you.”
I blushed, thinking of our last kiss. Izzy was watching me intently, so I just nodded.
“But then the Red gods really screwed up. They took me.”
I looked up at her. She hadn’t talked about her captivity yet, and I was intensely curious. Had Set really been her captor, like Marcus believed?
Izzy drew a rough breath and went on. “I’m sure it seemed like a good idea; if you somehow survived, one of you would still have to die to rescue me. And as soon as a Red Witch was gone, Rochelle would be ready to take over.”
She was making an awful lot of sense. “Either she’d take over my role, which is what she initially wanted, or she’d become the other Red and finally have the power to destroy me.”
Izzy nodded. “But they didn’t anticipate us becoming friends.”
I paused. “Or that you would come home with me.” Her words sank in, and I shuddered. “Thank you. Seriously, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here.”
“Rochelle thought she’d get her shot at you here, so she waited for her chance. If you survived, she knew you’d come home eventually.”
That thought made my blood run cold. “How long do you think she was here, acting like me?”
Izzy looked down at her hands. “I have no idea. You’ll have to find your parents to figure that out.”
As if summoned by magic, I heard a car pull into the drive. I gulped, suddenly unsure of myself. “What do I say?”
Izzy smiled at me gently. “Just tell them the truth.”
They were laughing when they came in the door, and if Mom hadn’t been carrying two bags of groceries, I might have flung myself at her immediately. As it was, she looked surprised to see us.
“Darlena? Who’s your friend?”
Dad bustled in behind her, carrying another grocery bag and a big bottle of vinegar. He paused, looking at Izzy and me.
“Her name’s Izzy. She’s a friend from Scotland.”
Dad’s eyes clouded. “I thought you weren’t there long enough to make any friends.”
Izzy and I exchanged a worried glance. “How long did you think I was there?”
He chuckled. “You can’t pretend we’re ever going to forget that our darling daughter woke us up at five o’clock in the morning on New Year’s Day!”
Mom had taken the groceries into the kitchen, but she stuck her head back around the corner. “I still can’t believe you didn’t even stick around to go sightseeing; you weren’t even there a week! There are so many cool places in the U.K.”
My stomach flipped over, and I took a deep breath. Izzy stood up, and when I nodded at her, she efficiently warded the living room.
Dad looked at her, his eyebrows twitching. “Honey, you better come in here. Something’s going on.”
He sat down in his recliner, and Mom came and perched on the arm of his chair. They both looked confused.
“Um,” I began, looking to Izzy for inspiration. She nodded at me, so I plunged ahead. “Actually, I just got back tonight.”
It took a minute for my words to sink in, but Mom got it first. Her face turned fearful, and she gripped my dad’s arm.
“What do you mean, exactly?” she asked in a strangled voice.
I took a deep breath, and then I told them about the other magics, and about Dr. Farren and the Coven. It was hard trying to explain it all, especially since I’d screwed up so badly. I told them about Marcus, even though Izzy turned pale when I described how I had tried to save him. They stared at me, open-mouthed, until I ran out of things to say.
“I still don’t understand.” Dad looked puzzled. “If you haven’t been here all this time—”
“It was Rochelle.” Izzy’s voice was soft, but my parents reeled back as if she’d slapped them.
“You can’t be serious!” My dad leaped up and began pacing the room. Anger bubbled off him, and I shivered.
Mom looked at me for a long time. “How can we be sure that you are who you say you are?”
I was stunned. It had never occurred to me that my parents would question my identity. Confused, I looked at Izzy.
She frowned for a moment, thinking. “What about something that only Darlena would know?”
My mom seemed to consider it, but then shook her head. “Darlena and Rochelle were best friends. They told each other everything.” She looked helplessly at Dad. “Richard, what do we do?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. Izzy tried to put her arms around my shoulder, but I shrugged her off. “I’ve gone through hell to get home. Literally, Marcus and I went to Hel to try to save Izzy, but Loki wouldn’t help us.” I picked up speed, babbling incoherently. “And then the Coven wanted to wait some more, but it had already been a year, so Marcus and I kept Loki’s bargain. But Marcus died,” I wailed, “and now Rochelle is back and I’m scared and you don’t believe me!”
Everyone in the room stared at me in shock. Mom latched on to the important part of the story.
“You made a bargain with Loki?” Her words were slow and measured, but her eyes looked panicked.
Numb, I nodded. “We just had to make it seem like the world was ending.”
“Exactly how did you do that?” Dad’s voice was tense.
“We forced some nuclear reactors to go haywire.” Embarrassed, I lowered my eyes.
“That was you?” my dad exploded, his face turning chalky.
I nodded again.
“I hope you’re aware, young lady, that you didn’t just make it seem like the world was ending. Those reactors are still spewing waste, and France is terrified. The entire world is terrified.” Dad glared at me and I shrank back into the couch.
I hung my head in shame. “I know. I’m sorry.”
After an uncomfortable pause, Mom leaned over and squeezed my hand. “We believe you, sweetie.”
Startled, I looked up and met her eyes.
“Wait, we do?” Dad raised his eyebrows skeptically at me.
Mom nodded. “Rochelle would never apologize. You said yourself that Lena seemed strange this year, grumpier and quicker to fight.” She hugged me, and I almost lost it.
“I’m so sorry.”
Mom stroked my hair. “Shh, sweetie, we know. I’m just glad you’re safe and sound.”
Her words broke me, and I started to sob. Mom held me until I was all cried out, but then Dad cleared his throat.
“Yes,” Dad said, “but how are you planning to fix your actions?”
I shrugged helplessly. “I can’t. When Marcus died, his territory passed into Rochelle’s control.”
My parents thought about this for a moment, but Dad seemed to understand. “Do you mean that she’s in control of Europe now?”
I nodded. “A Red Witch is bound by her territory. I can’t change things there any more than she can change things here.”
&
nbsp; “So we’re safe here for the time being,” Izzy added hopefully.
“We may be safe, but thousands of people are going to lose their homes and worse.” Mom shook her head. “This is a big problem.”
“And if Lena’s telling us everything, Loki is loose again.” My dad shivered. “Who knows what chaos he’ll add to the mix?”
“I think,” Izzy began quietly, “that this is no longer a Red problem.”
I looked at her, and for a moment, it was like I could read her mind. She nodded, and I leaned forward eagerly. “Do you think they would help?”
“It’s worth a try. If they won’t, maybe you need to form your own.”
I nodded slowly, considering. Izzy might be right; the only way to stop the chaos I’d started would be working with other Witches.
“Form your own what? Who are you girls talking about?” Mom looked at me, her brow furrowed.
“I think what Izzy means is,” I took a deep breath, “we need to form some kind of group to face Rochelle and the Red gods. Maybe it’s time to think about a Coven.”
My parents stared at me, twin looks of horror on their faces, but I ignored them.
Izzy reached out her hand and clasped mine. “I’ll help you, whatever you decide to do.”
I nodded. “I better decide something fast, or the world really will end.”
My parents looked at each other and shook their heads. Dad glanced at me, his face unreadable. “There’s something you aren’t telling us.”
I thought back to what Persephone had said at the cairns, and everything that had happened since. “There’s a good chance the Red gods are trying to destroy the world.”
I can’t tell you how crazy it is to be sitting down to write the acknowledgements for my sixth book; I’m so incredibly thankful to YOU, dear reader, for supporting my work and falling into Darlena’s world!
Thanks and ever more thanks to everyone at Month9Books and GMMG; you’re all amazing, and I’m so lucky to be part of such of a wonderful team! As always, thank you to Georgia McBride for pulling this series out of the slush pile all those years ago. It’s still so amazing to see it in print! Thank you to Jennifer Million, for helping me hold onto my sanity, and to the wonderful support squad, from editors to cover artists; you’ve made this book even more magical!
Thanks to Kat for the initial feedback that helped me take this tangled mess of a sequel and figure out what was really going on.
Hugs and gratitude to Kristen Lippert-Martin, Bethany Hagen, and Anne Blankman for reading early drafts of this novel. Thank you for the insight and suggestions, ladies!
Also, love and chocolate to the YA Valentines; 2014 may be over, but I know we’ve got years of family ahead of us.
It almost feels like it goes without saying (but I’m going to say it anyway) that this story wouldn’t be what it is without the loving intervention of my CP extraordinaire, Jaye Robin Brown. I love swapping stories with you, girl!
Sparklers and cupcakes to Ashley Poston for kick ass graphics, amazing ideas, and constant support.
To Laura, Deb, and Amanda for reading this story when it was in its infancy: thank you!
Overwhelming love to the SCBWI Carolinas community; I am so lucky to be part of this wonderful family! Gratitude also to the NCWN; thank you for welcoming me from the beginning.
Glitter and magic to my Witcherific street team; y’all are amazing, and I’m so thankful I get to share this journey with you!
Thank you to my students, past, present, and future, for teaching me more than I ever imagined.
My family has always supported my writing dreams, and I’m forever grateful for the encouragement, cheerleading, and love you continue to send my way.
And to the man who’s lived through the all the chaos, thank you; these stories exist because you love me enough to not complain about the way I obsess over fictional characters. As always, Matt, this one’s for you.
JEN MCCONNEL
Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time. Her fiction titles include YA and NA, and she also writes nonfiction. Visit http://www.jenmcconnel.com to learn more.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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