The rest shook their heads, most looking as dazed and numb as Eden felt.
Alex wrinkled her nose. “Permission to wash off the deer entrails.”
In the light the sisters were an even more ghastly sight—their faces and robes smeared with dried blood.
“Go,” Carolyn said. “I’ll speak with all of you later.”
The five sisters shuffled out.
“I’m not hurt, but I don’t understand,” Jules said. “I don’t know what happened to me—to us.”
“You said he called himself borahn,” Carolyn said to Eden, proffering a book. “Is this what he looked like?”
Eden stared at the detailed sketch.
“Yes,” Sarah said quickly. “Not at first, but yes, that’s him.”
“It’s him,” Eden agreed.
“There are few left—in this world or any other,” Carolyn said. “Their powers are limited, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous.”
“They make you see what you want to see.” Sarah read from the text. “Like a glamour, except he became what we wanted most.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” Rebecca muttered but didn’t elaborate.
“Yeah,” Sarah said, and Jules and Paige nodded.
“What did he want?” Eden said. “Where was he taking us?”
“Their powers work best on children,” Carolyn said. “That this borahn went after all of you tells me that he found some way to boost his strength.”
“That still doesn’t answer why or what he planned to do with us,” Eden said.
“Or why we’re just now finding out that demons even exist,” Rebecca said. “Kind of burying the lead, don’t you think?”
“It’s a delicate balance,” Carolyn said. “Telling you what you need to know and when. The Council of Magic—”
“Doesn’t seem to be here.” Rebecca looked around. “It’s just us girls, so how about we get the truth?”
“We did pass,” Jules said quietly. “We all saw stuff—the truth—and we passed. That means we’re going to be sisters, doesn’t it? And the sisters seem to know about this demon.”
A look passed between Jules and Carolyn, but it barely registered. Eden’s stomach twisted with the knowledge that she would never be a sister. Might never again even see the inside of Coventry House.
“I can’t say for sure what he wanted with you.” Carolyn spoke slowly, as if reluctant to say the words. “But I’ve heard of borahn using their skills to sell children who possess magical abilities on the black market.”
“Sell them?” A wave of nausea washed over Eden at how close she’d come—twice—to that happening.
“There are buyers,” Carolyn said slowly. “Those who know magic exists but have little or none of their own. The child is used as a...” She tripped over her words but pressed on. “As a battery—a way to strengthen their own power.”
“It’s always about the power,” Eden murmured.
“Yes.” Carolyn nodded grimly. “It is.”
It was why the boogeyman—the borahn—had come for her as a child, and why he’d come back. It was also why Coventry House had given Eden a scholarship—she was sure of it.
“This might be more truth than I need for one night.” Paige didn’t even look to Rebecca before she spoke. “Can I go?”
“Yes,” Carolyn said. “All of you may. We can talk in the morning.”
“Can someone... Can I get a ride back to my dorm?” Eden stared at the rug.
“Why don’t you stay?” Carolyn said. “You and I can speak in the morning too.”
Eden nodded gratefully then followed Sarah to what used to be their room.
Sarah handed her a blanket and a pillow, and Eden collapsed onto the bed, fully clothed.
“Eden?” Sarah said as she did the same. “How did you know?”
“About the boogey—the borahn?”
“About any of it.” Sarah said. “The house, the test, witchcraft? Weren’t you supposed to, like, forget?”
Eden sat back up. “Yeah. About that...”
The story came pouring out. She omitted nothing, wanting to be done with secrets and the damage they caused. Sarah listened intently and even seemed to understand why Eden hadn’t told her the truth in the first place.
“Sometimes we aren’t ready to know everything,” Sarah said, and Eden wondered if she was talking about herself too.
They talked until neither could keep their eyes open, and when Eden woke, she wasn’t tangled in her sheets.
“My memory is back. I reversed the spell before I went into the house,” Eden said. “But I didn’t have a nightmare last night.”
She sat across from Carolyn in her study. Once she’d eaten breakfast, Eden had been summoned.
“Why do you think that is?” Carolyn regarded her with a hawk-like gaze.
“Please don’t shrink me,” Eden said. “If you know the answer, just tell me.”
“You were kidnapped as a child.”
Eden’s eyes bulged. “You knew? This whole time you knew?”
“It’s part of the reason you’re here,” Carolyn said. “I had no idea a demon was involved. Borahn abductions usually happen in clusters—several in a short period within, say, a fifty mile radius. And then the borahn moves on. I looked at the newspaper articles in your case and found no other incidents around yours.”
“I hurt him,” Eden said. “I-I burned him. He said he had to go back to his world to heal.”
“Yes,” Carolyn said. “The fire.”
“You knew about that too?”
“It was in the reports. I couldn’t know for sure if you had been the one to start it, but it fits.”
“Fits what?” Eden’s head was spinning.
“Your strength. Your potential. Any child can learn magic, though most would never be able to so much as light a candle.” Carolyn toyed with a tiny statue on her desk. “Children are born knowing that magic exists—it’s the world that convinces them otherwise. It’s the reason we put you through all of these tests—to see how much resistance each of you has. I have to undo years of denial, and the stronger a girl is, the more they’ve had to be in denial. In your case, that denial was twofold.” She set the statue down. “Your desire to survive was such that your abilities manifested all at once. A trauma that deep, at that age, leaves a wound.”
“Don’t I know it,” Eden muttered.
“What you don’t know is that wound is why you have such access to your powers so soon. You have barely begun to tap your potential, but what access you do have is the direct result of your kidnapping.”
Was she supposed to be grateful?
But Eden knew what Carolyn would say—that it had shaped her for her destiny. Maybe her destiny had been to save her friends. And Rebecca.
“You said my denial was twofold.”
“The borahn,” Carolyn said. “Did anyone believe you?”
Eden shook her head.
“And who could blame them? In almost all cases, the child would have been hallucinating such a monster.”
“But I wasn’t.”
“And your subconscious has been trying to correct that mistake ever since. Our minds are powerful, Eden, and they are always moving toward wholeness. It is up to us to listen when they send us such strong messages.”
“I should have told you,” Eden said.
“Yes. I understand why you didn’t—after more than a decade of not being believed—but yes. It would have made things much easier.” Carolyn sat back in her chair. “But I share in this blame. It has been brought to my attention that perhaps the Council’s rules are too rigid—requiring that I wait until after you become sisters to begin your studies in demonology.”
Her words were cold comfort to Eden. “Maybe that will help the next girl.”
“I notice you don’t seem surprised that witchcraft exists.” Carolyn leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk. “Why is that?”
“You know why.” Eden looked her squ
arely in the eye. “I blocked your spell.”
And then it dawned on her: Carolyn would take her memory away—for real this time—and Eden had no way to stop it. Eden’s heart pounded. She thought about bolting for the door but knew she’d never make it.
“Which means the ritual wasn’t complete,” Carolyn said.
Eden was going to lose magic for good. She sank back into her chair and closed her eyes, resigned.
“And that means you’re still technically a member of Coventry House.”
Eden’s eyes flew open. “I am?”
“I did some reading last night,” Carolyn said. “And the text is very clear. Once the memory is wiped, the witch is cast out of the coven.”
“But my memory wasn’t wiped...”
“It appears not. You did, however, still break the rules.”
Eden’s stomach sank.
“But this is my coven. The Council has their rules, but... given the circumstances and the fact that you saved many lives last night... Well, let’s just say that if ever there were a time to make an exception, this would be it. I’ve already put a call in on your behalf.”
“Oh, my God.” Eden’s heart pounded, but this time in a good way. “Oh, my God, thank you.”
“We’ll see if you’re still thanking me when our private sessions start,” Carolyn said.
“Private sessions?” The news kept getting better and better.
“It’s important your skills develop the right way, so you’ll need to work especially hard to learn theory and the mechanics of how magic works.”
“Right,” Eden said. “Theory, mechanics. That’s the best part.”
But even that development couldn’t keep her from smiling.
Chapter 28
Sarah shifted her feet as she waited, her stomach doing flips. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to say the words. She’d said them in her head since the night of the test but never out loud.
She almost had when Eden finally came clean, if only to ease the guilt her friend carried for keeping secrets. She was going to tell her, but she needed to tell someone else first.
“Kai.”
Sarah stepped out from behind the tree where she’d been waiting for Kai to finish her class. Kai’s expression became stoney when she saw Sarah. She turned.
“Kai, wait.” Sarah reached out.
When she touched Kai’s arm, a jolt passed through her, but this time Sarah didn’t deny the attraction.
“I owe you an apology,” she said.
“Yes,” Kai said. “You do.”
“It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t ready... I shouldn’t have been mean to you.”
The silence stretched, and Sarah licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. She’d expected Kai to have more of a response and hadn’t planned much more to say. Except this.
“I’m ready now,” she said. “I’m... I’m gay.”
Kai’s gaze softened but didn’t exactly throw her arms around Sarah. “I’m glad,” she said finally. “I mean, I knew, but... I’m glad you know.”
“I was hoping that...” Kai’s impassiveness thwarted Sarah’s courage. “I was hoping we could be friends.”
“I’ve got enough friends.” Kai turned on her heel.
She’d taken two steps when Sarah blurted out, “I want to be with you.”
Kai’s wasn’t the only head that turned.
Sarah blushed furiously at the attention. Now everyone knew. She’d only just found out herself. She didn’t plan to lie about it anymore but had hoped to keep it private—
Kai’s lips were on hers, soft and hungry, and Sarah realized an important fact that trumped all others.
Truth wouldn’t be denied. And sometimes it tasted like cinnamon.
Eden arrived at the shelter and was about to start cleaning cages when she noticed Bella’s was empty. At an animal shelter that could mean two things, and one of them was very bad.
She raced over to the front desk.
“Where’s Bella? Is she...?”
“She got adopted,” the manager said, and Eden exhaled in relief. “Just now, in fact.”
“Just now?” Eden repeated.
“Yeah; they left like two minutes ago. It was—”
The door cut off the rest of his reply as Eden dashed outside. She at least wanted to say goodbye.
In the parking lot, she skidded to a stop when she saw Bella.
“Hey,” she said, and Bella’s new owner turned. “Mind if I say goodbye?”
Quinn looked surprised to see her but smiled. “Please. I only know about her because of you.”
Eden knelt down and buried her face in the softness of Bella’s fur. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.
“I’ll take good care of her,” he said.
“I know you will.” She looked up into the eyes she’d fallen so hard for. Then she stood, feeling small and out of place. “Thanks for giving her a second chance at life.”
“She deserves it,” Quinn said. “She’s a great girl.”
Eden was about to walk away. She’d made such a mess of things and had no idea how to even begin to explain.
She was about to, but she couldn’t.
“Since you’re in the mood for second chances...” she blurted out. “I had a really bad week. Epically bad, actually. And I stopped caring about things that...I actually really do care about. So, um, if that’s why you decided to break things off, then I’m hoping that maybe you’ll to give me another chance too. For the sake of...” She gestured to Bella. “The child.”
Quinn looked at her like maybe she was a little nuts.
Then he smiled. “I think we can work out a liberal visitation schedule.”
The ritual to become a sister turned out to be even more beautiful than Jules could have imagined. Even Rebecca had been radiant, suffused with the energy of the goddess. Of course it didn’t last—the next day she’d gone back to being her usual Rebecca self—but it spoke to the power of the initiation.
Two days later Jules sat in her room, poring over her new spell book.
Since her final test as a pledge—since the Mother had claimed her—Jules had felt a sense of inner belonging. But now, for the first time, she had a place to belong as well.
Jules had never lived anywhere for four years—four years! She could still barely get her mind around it.
That she would go to college—let alone somewhere as prestigious as Whitland—had been a stretch, only coming together at the last minute with the help of a guidance counselor who had helped her apply for every loan and grant known to man.
Even once she’d gotten in, she’d thought she’d be bouncing around each year to a new dorm, new roommates.
Thinking of roommates made Jules think of Hannah, and a bubble of sadness rose to the surface. She was alone, so she let the grief wash over her for the friend who was gone.
It’s better, she told herself, wiping her tears. It’s better than if she’d been sold into slavery.
She had been doing some research, though she kept it to herself.
Jules had learned early on not to stand out; being too good or too bad held equal danger. Too bad and she would be sent back to the group home, forced to make another family...if not love her, then want her. Too good and her foster siblings made her pay for showing them up. She had learned early on to shine but not too brightly.
It left her feeling like she constantly walked a tightrope, desperate to make it safely to the other side.
Except she had made it. She was home.
There was a knock on her door. “Come in.”
It was Eden.
She’d been surprised when Carolyn had let Eden back in—she seemed such a stickler for rules. But she’d also been happy—Eden was her friend and had saved them from the borahn demon.
But now Carolyn was privately tutoring her, and Eden had the nerve to complain about it being boring. Jules would have died for such attention. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
�
��What’s up?” she said.
Eden leaned against the doorframe. “I was hoping you could help me with something.”
“A spell?” Jules asked.
“No, just... Come on; I’ll show you.”
Eden walked out, leaving Jules little choice but to follow her down the hall. Why was it so dark?
“I was actually in the middle of—”
“Surprise!”
A thousand tiny spheres of light burst into being, revealing two dozen sisters gathered in the common room.
“What’s going on?” Jules was taken completely aback. She scanned the faces of the other girls.
“Like we weren’t going to find out,” Sarah said.
“Find out...?” Jules was at a total loss.
“About your birthday, genius.” Rebecca rolled her eyes but handed her a glass of punch.
“It’s...not my birthday,” Jules said.
“Well, yeah.” Eden reached for a homemade cake with pink frosting. “It was four weeks ago, but you didn’t tell anyone. Pretty shady if you ask me.”
“Seriously.” Courtney passed her hand over the candles, lighting them. “If you’re already hiding your age, what’s next? Botox before twenty?”
Jules hadn’t been hiding her age. One birthday party where no one showed up had been enough to swear off ever mentioning it.
Eden smiled and held up the cake. “Make a wish.”
Jules looked around the room, at the women gathered just to celebrate her. Then she took a breath and blew out the candles, her wish more of a prayer.
Thank you.
Eden finished her cake and set the plate aside.
“Refill?” Paige held up the water bottle that did not contain water.
“Sure,” Eden said. “Since it’s free and all.”
She already felt warm all over, but a little bit more couldn’t hurt.
“Don’t get used to it.” Paige topped off Eden’s drink. “Special occasion discount.”
When Paige left, Sarah sat down. “You okay?”
“Yeah, you know, just noisy up here sometimes.” Eden tapped a finger to her temple.
“I get that,” Sarah said. “It’s been a crazy two months. For you especially.”
“You’ve gone through some changes yourself.” Eden had been taken off guard when Sarah had admitted to being gay, but it hadn’t changed their friendship.
Pledge (Witches of Coventry House Book 1) Page 19