The Bone Coven Chronicles: The Complete Series

by Jenna Wolfhart

  “What’s going on?” I asked, doing my best to give Nathan my full attention.

  “Juno is in the hospital.” His voice cracked on the last word.

  With a gasp, I pressed my hand against my mouth. No wonder Nathan looked rough. Not only had he spent the entire evening as a werewolf, but he’d hurt his girlfriend. My heart ached for him. Juno obviously meant a lot to him, and they’d grown so close over the past few months. He’d never be able to forgive himself if something terrible happened to her. And I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either. Because that was why Nathan had wanted the ring, and Dorian and I had kept it in our possession until we knew exactly what we wanted to do with it. If we’d given it to Nathan, this never would have happened.

  “The doctors don’t seem to know what to do,” he said as his eyes filled with unshed tears. “So, I was hoping you might have an answer. Some spell. Something at all that might heal her.”

  I shook my head. “Oh, Nathan. I’m so sorry this has happened. Please don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t help it. New werewolves have trouble controlling their rage.”

  Nathan’s eyes clouded over as he shifted away, staring at me as if I were a stranger. “You think I did this? You think I hurt her?”

  I blinked. “No. Well, that’s not true. Yes, I did think that, but now I see I was clearly wrong. I just assumed when you said she was in the hospital that—”

  “That the dangerous werewolf did it.” With a frustrated sigh, he pushed up from the chair and stalked to the window, his back tense and his neck tight. “Of course you did. Your vampire lover has probably been telling you all kinds of stories about the evil wolves, right? Well, none of that’s true, Zoe. I would never hurt anyone. Not when I’m in this form and not when I’m in wolf form.”

  “No, you’re right. You wouldn’t,” I said quietly, a shock of pain shooting through my heart at the mention of Dorian. “I’m sorry. I know what a great person you are. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, but it’s been a rough night. Tell me what happened, Nathan. I’ll do my best to help Juno however I can.”

  “Juno went back into her shop,” Nathan said through gritted teeth as he continued to stare out the window. “Those demons attacked her. I was in wolf form and halfway across the city when I got this strange sensation that something was wrong. So, I ran there to help as fast as I could. But I was too late. The demons were already gone, and she was unconscious on the floor of her shop.”

  “Shit.” I stood then and began pacing across the linoleum floor. “Gone as in no longer in the shop? As in they’re now somewhere else in the city?”

  “I assume so. The doors were wide open, and the demons were nowhere to be found.” Nathan turned to me, his face hard and his eyes cold, though the anger didn’t seem directed at me even if I probably deserved it. “This gift I’ve been given, it did nothing when it counted the most. All I could do was howl when I found her. What good am I if that’s all I can do when someone I love gets hurt?”

  My heart squeezed tight, his words hitting home.

  “Don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault,” I said, crossing the room to join him by the window. “But can I ask you something? You called it a gift. Is that really how you see your werewolf nature?”

  “Don’t you see your powers as a gift?” he asked with a shrug. “I know you think it’s different, but it isn’t. It’s the same thing.”

  “I don’t see them that way, actually.” Frowning, I bit my bottom lip. “My powers are much more dangerous than most. They’re not a gift. They’re a curse, and they absolutely terrify me. What if I end up hurting someone I care about because of them?”

  “You can’t think of it that way,” Nathan said. “Your power is part of who you are, just like the wolf is part of who I am. The only way to coexist with these aspects of ourselves is to embrace them. Otherwise, they boil under the surface and wait for the right moment to explode. Embracing them means that we’re in control.”

  Sighing, I sagged against the window and stared out at the streets. “Maybe that works for wolves, but I don’t know how well that would work for me.”

  “Try it, Zoe,” Nathan said. “My only regret is that I wished I’d embraced my wolf nature earlier. If so, I might be faster, stronger. And I might have been able to get to Juno in time. Instead, it was too little too late.”

  “Oh, Nathan. I’m so sorry this has happened.” Sighing, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “If a demon attacked her and she’s still alive, then you weren’t too late. I know a way we can heal her, but we’re going to need Laura’s help, too. Is that okay?”

  Nathan nodded, and I grabbed Laura from Grams’s room. When she joined us in the kitchen, I filled her in on what had happened, as well as my crazy plan for saving Juno.

  “Depending on how badly she’s hurt from the demon attack, she might be healed by vampire blood,” I said, watching Laura’s eyes when I made the suggestion.

  “True,” Laura said with a frown. “But Dorian has been taken.”

  I flinched, but plowed forward with my plan. “I wasn’t referring to Dorian. There are other vampires we know. Or at least that one of us knows.”

  Laura stared at me for a moment before realization dawned in her eyes. She shook her head, the long strands of her hair flipping across her shoulders. “You mean Anastasia?”

  “You said you’ve become friendly with her,” I said.

  “Yeah, but…” Laura glanced at Nathan, her eyes drinking in the state of him. “You know what? You’re right. I’ll call her. She owes me after the way she drank my blood at Slayerville.”

  Laura made the call, and strangely enough, Anastasia agreed. Feeding Juno her blood might not make a huge difference in the long-term, but it was worth a shot. If she was unconscious in the hospital because of a demon attack, we didn’t have much time to waste. And a vampire’s blood was the only sure thing I knew that healed.

  “Okay,” Laura said with a nod as she hung up the phone. “She’ll meet Nathan at the hospital, and she’ll do what she can to heal Juno.”

  “And just to be on the safe side, bring her back here, Nathan. I’ll take a look and make sure she doesn’t need additional healing,” I added. “Both of you can stay as long as you need for her to recover.”

  Nathan’s face had begun to fill with color again, now that there was hope for his girlfriend to survive. He clutched my hand, his eyes saying more than words could. “What about you two? Aren’t you coming with me?”

  Pain flickered through my heart, Dorian’s face springing into my mind. “I can’t. We have some demons we need to destroy.”

  “Grams.” I took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles. “I don’t know what to do. I need help.”

  Waking Grams was something I never wanted to do. She looked so peaceful like this, so at odds with the rest of the world. After a few moments, she cracked open her eyes and stared up at me, a light smile lifting her lips. “Oh, Zoe, dear. You look so very worried. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Everything is wrong.” I started at the beginning, spilling everything out until I couldn’t speak anymore. The story was long and winding, twisted and scary. I’d wanted so badly to keep her out of all this, but I couldn’t anymore. I needed help. And she was the only person with knowledge of shadow magic that I knew I could trust.

  “I was worried the demons might be regaining their strength after what that Vincent man did. Even though he’s gone, his actions weakened the veil,” she said, shifting so that she sat up higher on her pillows. She patted my hand and gave me a sad smile. “What ever happened to that other warlock involved? The professor one? Could he be causing some damage, too?”

  “Professor Ivan Wagner.” I frowned. I hadn’t thought about Vincent’s sidekick since the day he’d been arrested and locked up in mage prison. Surely he couldn’t have anything to do with this. He’d been off the streets for months. “He’s in prison, Grams.”

  Grams nodded, sighing heav
ily. “Well, then I don’t know how to help you, Zoe. I wish I could, but I’m an old and tired woman whose magic is weak and fading more with every passing day.”

  I hated to hear her speak like this, as if there were only days left instead of months or years. She’d only been getting worse these past few weeks, and I was left feeling hopeless, like there wasn’t a damn thing I could do other than sit here and watch her fade.

  “I just don’t know what to do, Grams,” I said, my voice cracking. “Dorian has been taken by a demon, and I would do whatever it took to get him back. But I feel so helpless.”

  Grams reached up to cup her soft hand around my cheek, the comforting and familiar scent of her vanilla lotion filling my nose. “I think you know how to get Dorian back, dear. There are ways. Ones that are no stranger to you. You’re just far too scared to do what needs to be done.”

  My eyes fluttered shut as the weight of the truth settled over me. “Use my shadow magic. Find Dorian. Destroy the creature any way I can. The only problem is, if I do that, the darkness could take over.”

  “You can embrace who you are and not lose yourself, Zoe. And if one person on this planet would agree with me on that, it would be him. He trusts you. He knows you’re strong enough. And so do I.”

  My heart thumped hard. Grams was right. Dorian had been coaching me to use my power for months. He’d told me time and time again that I could master it, that I didn’t have to be so scared to open myself up to what simmered deep within. And maybe if I had listened to him for even a moment, if I’d practiced my magic instead of shutting it up deep inside of my soul, if I’d trained, if I’d done anything other than push it away, then I’d have a better handle on how to keep it within my control.

  With a tear slipping down my cheek, I leaned into Grams’s touch. There was only one choice in front of me, and I knew what Dorian would do if he were in my place. He’d risk losing himself if it meant he could save me. And I knew I had to do the same.

  Chapter 24

  Strapping my sheath around my waist, I strode toward the front door with determination in every step. I’d failed Dorian when the demon had attacked, too scared to harness my power. My shadow magic was a million times stronger than any bone spell I could manage. Using that instead of the bone wards might have been enough to give Dorian the chance to get away. Now, I had to right my wrong, and there was only one way I could do that.

  “Where are you going?” Laura jumped up from the couch and followed me across the room.

  With a sigh, I whirled to face her, hoping she wouldn’t try to stop what very well might end up being a suicide mission. “Dorian’s apartment. I need a belonging of his so I can track him down.”

  “You’re going to use your shadow spell. Seek or something, wasn’t it? The one you cast to find Vincent.” She grabbed her faded black boots from the rack beside the door and shoved her feet inside them. “Give me a second, and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “I thought you’d tell me I shouldn’t,” I said. “Much less come with me to help.”

  She tightened the laces and glanced up at me, eyes peering out of a curtain of blonde and pink stripes. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, Zoe. We’ve always thought of the Shadows as the witches with darkness inside of them, but then blood mages go and do something far worse than I could imagine. Burning down a club? Putting aside the fact that Daywalkers aren’t demonic, there were innocent humans inside of that place. Did you see the news? Twenty people died.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t think the powers of the covens are as black and white as I thought. It’s how we use our magic that matters.”

  “You’re okay with me using a shadow spell to find Dorian,” I said, the relief of her words crashing over me like a tidal wave. Of all the people in the world I needed to hear that from, it was her.

  Laura stood and wrapped her arms tight around my neck. “I’m not just okay with it, Zoe. If we’re going to get through all this, I think we need it. And I’ll help you any way I can.”

  Dorian’s apartment was eerie and barren when we strode through the door. The small space usually felt empty regardless, but Dorian’s presence always filled it in such a way that the furnishings didn’t seem so sparse. He was larger than life, his body brimming with strength and power. Hell, even the scuff marks on the walls dimmed in comparison.

  I grabbed a t-shirt from his closet and settled onto the floor, taking deep breaths to steady my nerves. It had been three months since I’d touched my shadow magic. And frankly, I was terrified as hell.

  Laura joined me on the floor and crossed her legs, placing the shadow grimoire on the warped hardwood between us. “You ready?”

  I gave a nod, though I was anything but. Laura’s presence helped sooth my nerves, but my heartbeat still thrummed in my neck like hummingbird wings. I was thankful she was here, even if there wasn’t much she could do to help. This spell was mine and mine alone, and unfortunately, I couldn’t take a single soul with me when I left my physical body behind.

  “Right.” I traced a finger along the Latin words on the cover, and a spark of power shot through my skin. “If something goes wrong, I need you to make sure Grams is taken care of.”

  “Zoe,” Laura said with a frown. “Don’t talk like that. Nothing is going to go wrong. You’re just suspending your mind from your body. Right?”

  “Yes, in a way. Once I cast the spell, my mind will go wherever the demon has taken Dorian, but that doesn’t make me invincible. I could end up in the demon realm. Or goddess knows where else.”

  Laura frowned down at the grimoire. “You’re saying you could be hurt.”

  “Whatever happens to me in that form is permanent, so yes. I could get hurt.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed tight, emotion bubbling up in my throat. “Promise me you’ll make sure Grams is taken care of.”

  Laura nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she leaned forward to press her forehead against mine. Power surged between us, blood and shadow blending as one. Forget my off-and-on bond with Dorian. I’d always felt linked to Laura in a way that went far beyond magic. She was my soul sister. My rock.

  “Please be careful,” she whispered. “You’re the only family I’ve got.”

  “I’ll be careful.” With a smile, I swiped a tear from her cheek. “Just don’t forget you do have the Blood Coven. I’m sure they’d welcome you with open arms if you asked.”

  Her eyes sparked with fire, replacing the tears that had been there only seconds before. “I’m never officially joining their coven now that I know what they’re capable of. I’d ask to join the Bone Coven, but everyone knows my mark. There’s nothing I can do to hide what I am now. I’m stuck being coven-less for life.”

  “We should start our own coven. You and me. Summoner and Magister.” I cracked a smile. “It’d be a hell of a lot better than all these other shitty covens, don’t you think?”

  “Damn straight.” Her face softened as she began to laugh. A second later, I joined in. The two of us sat there together like that, letting the tension roll off our shoulders. I needed this moment, to remind me what I was. I wouldn’t let my power conquer me. It was time to push aside my fears and conquer it instead.

  The smile slid from my face as I turned my attention back on the grimoire sitting between us. “I better get started. We don’t know how long Dorian has.”

  Or if he even had any time left at all.

  With a deep breath, I flipped the page to the Seek spell. I didn’t really need to see the paper. The words were in Latin, and there were no runes for me to draw—shadow mages were the only magic wielders who didn’t need to draw runes in order to harness their coven power. They merely needed their dagger, deep shadows, their will, and the knowledge of what they required the magic to do.

  Dorian had already translated this spell for me once before, and I could remember the steps in my sleep. I’d had nightmares of this spell for weeks.

  “Laura, I need you to turn out the lights,” I said qui
etly.

  Nodding, she stood and flicked off the bare bulb that hung loosely in the middle of the room. I stayed seated on the floor, hidden in the deepening shadows. After several moments spent steadying my breath, I gripped my dagger tight and closed my eyes, calling upon the power I’d been hiding deep within myself all these months. The darkness, the shadows, the evil I hated so much. It churned within me, whirling so hard and so fast that I had to grit my teeth against the force.

  I cried out, my body bucking and my back arching. The force was overwhelming, painful and euphoric at the same time. It filled my entire body until there was nowhere else for it to go but out.

  “Dorian Kostas,” I whispered. A burst of yearning shot through me along with a dark power that ripped from my soul. Shivers danced along my skin, a sensation that swarmed over me like a thousand tiny ants. Power hummed in my veins, but it was nothing like the earthy bone magic I’d been practicing for so long. This power was raw and electric, singeing me and lighting me up at the same time.

  I opened my eyes and blinked against the smudged surroundings. Everything was blotted out by churning shadows. Just before me, a shimmering dark cord hovered and waited for my touch, leading to wherever the demon had taken Dorian. Relief poured through me. If this cord was here, it must mean that Dorian wasn’t dead. He was alive, somewhere, and it would take me straight to him. Or, at least that was what I had to hope.

  Wrapping my hands around the cord, I pulled. My body jerked forward, tumbling over itself as my power took over. The world whizzed past me in a blur, sights and sounds echoing like memories from long ago. Before I could catch my breath, I was outside of Dorian’s apartment. And then the cord pulled me further ahead. I spun past Blue Moon Tavern, past my own apartment building, and past the university grounds.

  Everything jerked to a stop. I hurtled toward the ground, my knees bucking when my boots slammed onto a dirt path. Blinking, I looked up and around, finding myself surrounded by…