Coven Deception

by D. H. Davis

  I glance back at him and give him a brief smile, so he knows I appreciate the honesty. He suddenly throws something in my direction and without thinking I spin around and catch it. It’s only then that I realise he’s thrown me my own phone; a phone I thought was safely in my jacket pocket.

  “Just in case you change your mind later,” he calls to me with a wink before disappearing before my eyes.

  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how fast vampires are. I look down at my phone to see it open on the contacts page with a new addition of Jessie’s name and number accompanied by a red heart emoji. The cheeky git! I can’t help smiling to myself, though, and I can feel my face flushing and turning pink.

  Crap! I’ve caught feelings for a vampire.

  Chapter Five

  My phone goes off in my bag sending a vicious vibration up the leg off the wobbly, old, English table I’m leaning on, making my heart beat faster. I sneakily slide it out of my bag and glance at the message under the table; clearly breaking the no phones in class rule.

  ‘Looking very nice today witchy x.’

  I smile to myself as I read the message, my cheeks turning a shade of rouge as I type out my response,

  ‘I don’t recall seeing you today, Mr Wells. You lurking in the shadows again? Xxx’

  ‘Well, my unique set of skills makes lurking very easy x.’

  ‘Creep! Xxx’

  ‘You say, creep, I say, observant and endearing. Red suits you x.’

  He also follows that text up with a winking face emoji, one I’m fast learning he likes to use.

  As he predicted, it didn’t take me long to use his number. Curiosity got the better of me and I added him on WhatsApp. I tried to convince myself it was purely for information gathering purposes, to learn about his kind but, deep down, I knew it was more than that.

  I look around the classroom to see if I can spot him but then realise its futile; he could be right in front of me and I wouldn’t be able to see him. That’s another new thing I’ve learnt; vampires can sneak around undetected. Jessie informs me, they have the ability to blend into their surroundings, similar to a chameleon and not breathing is an added bonus to this as any other being never would notice their presence. I’m beginning to understand the danger a vampire could pose, which is why I cast an alert for any unseen presences around me. Now, if Jessie or anything else is near me, hiding in plain sight, then the star charm on my bracelet will turn a deep shade of red; warning me there could be danger and allowing me to stay one-step ahead.

  Jessie on the other hand, is yet to trip my alarm and as I glance down at my wrist, all I see is silver. For all my jokes about him lurking in the shadows, so far, he’s actually being pretty respectful. Another reason I’m finding myself all the more fascinated by him.

  Lunchtime arrives and we are all of elevated spirits as its ‘Fish and Chip’s Friday’, a close second to ‘Panini day’.

  Eve, Owen and I are gathered around one of the semi-circle tables in the canteen. It’s one of the many things the school has tried out to appear more modern but instead, it just makes for awkward lunches with not enough surface space to eat without knocking elbows.

  “I have literally thought about this all morning,” Owen says licking his lips as he rips open the cellophane packet covering his cutlery.

  “Me too,” I reply shoving my first chip into my mouth.

  We sit in silence for a few minutes as we all begin to demolish our meals. Any onlooker would assume we hadn’t been fed for days. It’s not until we become aware of a commotion behind us that we come up for air.

  Chairs are scraping against the floor as people hurriedly push back on their seats and jump up gasping. I turn around to see a crowd of people at the entrance to the canteen, oddly facing out of the room, not into it, as you would expect.

  “What the hell is going on over there?” Owen asks, clearly not too bothered as he immediately continues to shovel a piece of fish in his mouth.

  “Ooo, maybe it’s a fight,” cries Eve, standing, as she tries to get a better view. “I heard Bobby Newman has started dating Dylan Green’s ex. Doubt he’s taken that well.”

  I smirk to myself. Dylan Green is a Grade A tool, so the idea of him getting mugged off by his best mate is highly amusing to me.

  “B, let’s go see. You know it’ll make your day!” she says as she yanks my arm, pulls me out of my chair and heads towards the crowd of people. Owen just waves his hand at us as if to say go ahead without me – he’s never been one for confrontation.

  As we approach the crowd, it becomes clear we have severely misinterpreted the situation. People are backing away from the door, not moving towards it. Their gasps are sharp and quick, the kind you associate with fear; not the long drawn out gasps of excitement. It dawns on me that we are heading towards something we shouldn’t be. As that thought reaches me, a break in the crowd reveals a glimpse at what’s causing the commotion.

  Stood stiff and snarling in the middle of the crowd is an enormous black wolf; much larger than I ever expected a wolf would be in real life. It was snapping at the crowd, presenting its yellowed fangs. The wolf’s coat was thick on its back but shabby and sparse around its legs, like its fur had been torn from its flesh in a fight. It was breathing heavily, surveying its surroundings; waiting for something. Drool dripping from the corner of its open muzzle and a sudden, crazed murderous look in its eyes, the wolf’s gaze locks on me.

  In that instant, I feel a cold chill cover my entire body, as if intended by the wolf. Before I can signal anything to Eve, the wolf lets out a harrowing howl and charges forward.

  All hell breaks loose. A canteen full of teenagers has just become a hunting ground for a predator and I’m pretty sure I am the intended prey. I grab Eve’s hand and drag her over to the side of the room where the counter is. We jump onto it and slide over on our bums to the other side to crouch down behind the unit. All around us, we can hear chaos, people screaming and scrambling to find a hiding place and the growls and howls of the wolf seeming louder and louder. I pause for a moment racking my brain for what my dad would do if he were here but my train of thought is broken when I realise one of the screams is coming from Eve.

  “Ahhhhh, B! There’s too many!” she wails in pain with her hands cradling her head. “Too much fear!” she cries.

  I realise I’ve got to do something fast. My best friend is in pain and at risk of exposing herself and my other best friend is somewhere in this madness on his own. I squeeze Eve’s hand to let her know I’ll make it stop; I’ll make it okay again. I frantically look around for anything that can help and that’s when I spot something shiny from the corner of my eye. It’s an empty silver platter that’s clearly been knocked over in the pandemonium. I get an idea.

  I have a quick scan of our surroundings to check there are no ordinaries watching me before I crawl forward to pick up the platter. The dinner ladies have hidden themselves in the store cupboard and shut the door, leaving the room full of kids to fight the battle on their own. At least it means they can’t witness what I’m about to do.

  I sit with my back against the counter and slowly raise the platter above the surface so I can survey the room through its reflection. The left side is clear, students hiding behind flipped over tables or cleverly playing dead, but no wolf. I tilt the tray to the right side and find what I’m looking for. There’s the overgrown beast staring back at me with its menacing glare and gritted teeth. It knows I’m here and it’s coming for me. The wolf pounces in the direction of the counter but as it leaps into the air, I mutter, “Somnum.”

  Before the wolf can land its leap, it becomes limp, falling in a heap on the floor with a deafening thud. I let out a massive sigh of relief. That was total luck. I didn’t know if a sleep incantation could be completed without direct eye contact. Using the platter had been a long shot; long or not, it paid off.

  “B.” I turn to look at Eve. There’s blood dripping out of both her ears and she’s pale and shaking
. Her body is weak and every ounce of her usual confidence is slipping away.

  “Come on, Eve. We’ve got to get you out of here.”

  She gathers what little strength she has to help me carry her. Mustering up all the faith I have, I lift her body and start to stagger out of the canteen. I keep talking to her, hoping to reassure her that everything will be okay but we both know what it means if someone catches her looking like this. Hospital. Unfortunately, though, it is the last place an empath needs to go, especially a weakened one.

  As we’re staggering to Eve’s car up ahead, I can feel her growing heavier on me. She’s passing out and I begin to slow as her dead weight becomes too much. I just about manage to click her keys to unlock the car before we start toppling towards the floor.

  Suddenly, Eve becomes weightless. Jessie is stood in front of me, his arms under Eve’s body, taking all the strain from me.

  “You okay?” he asks, concern spread across his face.

  “I’m fine but she’s not. I need to get her out of here before someone sees!” I cry, nodding my head towards the car.

  Jessie scoops Eve carefully up and has her laid across the backseat of the car in seconds. I scramble into the driver’s seat and to my surprise, I find Jessie in the passenger seat next to me.

  “What are you doing?” I shout at him, I haven’t got time for his playful games right now.

  “I’m coming with you. Something seriously dark’s just gone down, Brooke. My daylight tattoo stopped working, I had to, quite literally, lurk in the shadows. It didn’t start working again until you made the wolf sleep,” he stares at me looking deep into my eyes. “Don’t you get it? That wasn’t just a wolf!”

  I know what he’s saying is true. There was definitely something supernatural going on but his presence, while I try to figure it out, is only going to complicate matters.

  “If you really want to help me, find Owen. Make sure he’s okay,” I plead realising I could actually have two injured friends.

  Jessie stares at me intently, contemplating what I’m asking.

  “Okay, I’ll text you when I find him. Just be careful,” he replies as he climbs out of the car.

  Before I can drive off though, he’s suddenly at the driver’s side of the car leaning through the open window. He grabs me gently but firmly by the cheeks and pulls me in for a kiss. Even though the world around us has just gone to shit, he somehow still manages to make time feel as though it’s standing still. He breaks away and adds, “I mean it, be careful. Something here is not right.” He proceeds to stroke my cheek then slides back out of the window and runs towards the canteen.

  I speed towards the church not even registering the fact I don’t actually have more than a provisional license. If I got pulled over now I’d be screwed for sure but it doesn’t matter. What’s important now is getting Eve to the Elders. They are the only ones that can restore peace to her mind. It’s a ritual that takes collective power, where witches channel one another to gain enough strength. I’ve only ever known Eve to need this once before, way back before she could fully control her powers, when we were seven.

  There had been a volcanic eruption near the village, where she was on holiday with her family and the despair and ruin that was caused overloaded Eve. She just couldn’t filter it out. She was feeling the fear, pain, desperation, loneliness and anger of an entire village of people whose lives had been shattered; hearing all their thoughts, one on top of the other, quickly driving her to feel demented.

  I wasn’t there but she had shown it to me in a vision, so I would know what to do if it ever happened again. She screamed in pain last time too and eventually her ears bled. She was unconscious for four days, while her family tracked down elders of a local coven. That’s what made her so determined to get mastery of her powers. She never wanted to be rendered helpless again.

  That’s why I don’t understand what just happened. Eve is stronger than a canteen full of fear. I’ve seen her filter and control much larger samples than that. Why did a wolf attack inspire so much fear? Enough to debilitate the most powerful empath I know. I just add it to the long list of questions swirling around my head at the minute.

  I screech to a halt outside the church, Peter and my dad are already waiting for us.

  “The others are on their way, Brooke. Let’s get her down to the sanctum and prepare the ritual. The longer she’s under, the harder it is to get her back,” Peter instructs as we work together to lift her out of the car.

  “How did you know we were coming?”

  “I have an alert incantation set for any harmful supernatural creature that enters Arcane Grove. It went off just before the wolf attack. I projected to the school and saw it all. I was about to intervene, Brooke, but then you handled it, just like a leader would. I projected back here to warn Peter you would be coming,” Dad responded.

  Choosing the wrong time in my opinion to have a proud teaching moment, he could have gotten Eve back here far quicker than me. It’s not like dad to make such a reckless call. We manage to get Eve down the stone staircase to the coven’s sanctum and lie her carefully on the table. Even though she’s passed out, you can tell she is not at peace. There is a tormented look on her face, filling me with sadness. She is enduring so much pain.

  Chapter Six

  Red flames surround me. Blazing brighter by the second, the searing heat scorching my skin. I frantically spin around looking for any clue to my whereabouts but none are revealed to me. All I can see beyond the flames is darkness, an abyss of emptiness. I truly am alone and about to be engulfed by a fire that has ignited from nothing. I scream every incantation I can think of in attempts to subdue the flames. Nothing works. My bids are futile. I feel panic I have never encountered before, true terror at my impending fate. The wild fire grows at a rapid rate rendering me utterly helpless. I let out a blood-curling scream as the inferno consumes me.

  That’s when I wake up in a cold sweat, breathing rapid, short, shallow breaths. I know that’s what most people would call a nightmare but I know better. It’s a warning. I just have to try and work out who or what is sending it to me.

  Chapter Seven

  “Come on, you’re just milking it now.” I tease Eve, softly hitting her with a fluffy pink cushion. Eve gasps very theatrically and hits me back. That’s a good sign.

  “B, I know you mean well but I just don’t want to go.”

  We’re lay snuggled up on Eve’s four-poster bed, where she’s been for the last week. You don’t see many four-poster beds anymore but Eve very much wanted to be a princess when we were younger and had begged her parents for one. As with most things with Eve, they gave in and got her what she wanted. She has that talent; sheer determination and if you know her well, you know the smart play is to just cave. Now we’re older though, instead of Disney princess décor, it’s dressed with light pink and purple fairy lights wrapped round the posters making it the perfect girly place to chill.

  Eve was only out for two days this time but it’s taken her longer than that to recover. Peter said that she was lucky they performed the ritual when they did or her mind might have come back fractured. Apparently, the damage had been extensive and it exhausted all of them to bring her back.

  The Elders and my dad have been having secret meetings all week about what happened. They know there’s some sort of unseen evil in Arcane Grove and that it’s powerful if it affected Eve the way it did but they’re shutting me out. Considering I’m supposed to be taking over and that me and Eve were actually there, they are keeping me well and truly out of the loop.

  Dad hasn’t been himself all week, even Sammy has asked him why he’s acting so shifty, but that was met with an uncharacteristic ‘mind your own business’.

  Only advantage being that it’s given me more time to spend with Eve. She’s physically back to normal now but she’s just reluctant to resume normal life. Personally, I think she’s hiding away, which is why I’m keen to convince her to come along to the house party I
’m going to tonight. You know the old saying, feel the fear and do it anyway! She just needs to get out and do something fun.

  Besides, school thinks she’s been off with tonsillitis so there really isn’t anyone who saw. Jessie obviously knows Eve’s a witch now, as he knew it was something supernatural happening to her but he’s been respectful enough not to ask too many questions. He knows her secrets aren’t mine to tell and he’s hardly going to go about telling anyone else. Not that she even knows he saw us.

  I ponder how I’m going to convince her to leave her pit and dress to impress, which is when I decide to tug at her meddling strings. Why not? Owen’s raving about Jessie since he found him hyperventilating, hunched and unharmed behind a fort of chairs, calmed him down and drove him home. So why not add Eve to the list of people that know about my sordid, little secret. I bite the bullet and spill the beans.

  “I think you’ll change your mind when you find out who my date is.”

  “Shut up!” Eve cries in a voice displaying both shock and excitement, quickly sitting up to glare at me. “I wasn’t out for that bloody long! Who? Where and When? Brooke Lesley!”

  Now I know I’ve got her interest; she never full names me, unless she’s super serious.

  “Jessie Wells, Chip Shop and a few weeks ago,” I answer to her list of questions.

  “Jessie bloody Wells! The year thirteen? The ridiculously muscular guy?” she asks rhetorically. “Nice work, B,” she nods her head. “Very nice indeed.”

  I then proceed to fill her in on everything. From meeting on my walk, to kissing in the Spinny, to the constant texting. Well, almost everything. I may miss out the parts relating to his vampirism. What’s a tiny lie of omission, though? She is recuperating after all, what kind of friend would add extra pressure to her load?

  As predicted, the prospect of getting to stick her nose into my love life gets her in the party mood and we quickly move onto her deciding what we’ll both be wearing. Eve opts for a tight, khaki, midi bodycon dress, which highlights every asset she has and after trying to put me in something similar (and me telling her to do one), she picks out an oversized white t-shirt for me to wear as a dress with knee high black boots. I must admit, partnered with the wand induced curls she’s put in my hair and the way she’s done my make-up, I actually feel quite nice which is unusual for me. It’s like I’ve got a new found confidence and I can’t put my finger on where it’s come from.