Chapter 33
“The Magister of the Bone Coven was incredibly interested in the letter,” the old man said to the group of us who had gathered in the living room of the old ranch house. It was me, Dorian, and the two remaining Elders, plus a handful of rebels who had abandoned the fight to see what was going on with this page. “It’s clearly important. We need to take it inside the blade room so that we can read what it says.”
I glanced out the window at the smoke curling up into the sky. This whole page thing—while certainly intriguing—didn’t seem like it could compare to the fact there were a million fucking bombs exploding in the middle of this desert town. Shouldn't I join the fight? Didn't I need to be out there helping in any way I possibly could?
“He’s right, Zoe,” Dorian said as he caught my gaze. “The Magister interrogated me about this paper for hours, desperate to figure out a way to read it. If it’s that important, it really could change everything.”
“Or make matters worse,” one of the Elders said, cocking his eyebrow. “You could take the information straight back to your coven and doom us all for good.”
“I think we’ve made it more than clear that our loyalties no longer lie with the Bone Coven,” I said. “Isn’t that right, Dorian?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Unfortunately, Zoe’s right. I can no longer stand by a group of mages who are willing to do what they did this week. Nothing could convince me to give them sensitive information, especially not knowing how they would use it. Take us into the room while we have a chance. I have a feeling our fight isn’t done just yet.”
“Very well,” the Elder said. “But we are putting our faith in you. After today’s battle, we’ll need all the help we can get.”
When we stepped inside the room, the blade’s glow began to churn like a whirlpool around it’s handle. The magic within me rose up fast and hard, bubbling with a need to be closer to the weapon. I gasped, caught off guard by the sensation. Clearly, the Sun Coven had been right. This blade was meant for me, and it was desperate for me to use it.
“Here,” the older man said, shuffling forward and holding the page up for us all to read the words. We leaned in close as the light rippled across its surface. Words appeared one by one as if they were being written out before us. My eyes tripped down the page, and my heart throbbed hard in my chest when I finally realized what it said.
“Oh my god,” the Elder murmured, his eyes going bright. “How can this be?”
“Does that say what I think it says?” I asked in a raw whisper.
Dorian nodded and squeezed my hand. “The Witch’s Blade really could end this war. It says not only can the weapon destroy demons, but it can close the veil for good. Permanently. Demons would never be able to get into our realm ever again.”
But before we could fully comprehend this new development, a boom shook the walls, and the air filled with the sound of screams.
Chapter 34
Dorian and I rushed out the door, abandoning the Elders in the blade room. We flew down the hallway, our feet pounding hard against the smooth surface. Outside, another boom echoed throughout the town, and screams exploded like the sound of lightning.
“Dorian,” I said through my gasping breath, “what’s going on?”
“The covens must be retaliating,” he said in a grim voice. “It was only a matter of time before they fought back against the rebel’s offense. I was hoping it would take them a lot longer to regroup, but they’re clearly in a rush to take them out. If they can kill all the Elders…”
“Then, they can get into the blade room themselves,” I said with a nod. “They will no longer need a sun mage to get inside.”
“They’d just need you,” Dorian said, pausing in his steps. “We need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere they can’t find you. The wall is down now. Use your shadow spell to go back to my castle. There’s nowhere else in the world safer than that.”
“And what? Abandon everyone here? Abandon you?”
“The Bone Coven is right,” he said, taking my shoulders tight in his hands. “You’re valuable. Only you can wield that blade. Only you can close the veil. Go back to the castle. As soon as this fight is over, I’ll get the weapon and come straight to you.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I said, flinching when another boom shook the walls. “You should know by now that I won’t run from a fight, and I especially won’t leave you here to fight on your own. We’re a team, Dorian Kostas. Whether you like it or not.”
A glint of admiration lit his eye before his gaze turned serious once again. “One day, Zoe Bennett, you’re going to be the death of me, but it won’t be today. Get out your weapon and use your power if you must. No need to hide it anymore. Do your motherfucking worst.”
We crouched low when we pushed open the door of the building. Outside, flashes of orange light battled with white. Both sides were casting spells with no abandon, throwing their worst at each other with only the empty street between them. It was a war-zone, and what was worse, we were fighting amongst ourselves. This shouldn’t be happening. We should be working with each other and not against.
But the Bone Coven had made it clear where they stood, and there was nothing left to do but fight. So, we crouched down low and edged down the drive, keeping our ears out for any sign of the enemy. It only took a few moments to find the heart of the fight. Masked rebels flung spells at Blood Enforcers, and bone mages crept up from behind to slice their blades into skin.
In the far corner, I saw Laura and Anastasia knocking back a few Enforcers, and my heart leapt into my throat. I rushed to their sides and joined the fray, Dorian just behind me. The battle blurred by at an impossible speed. A spell would fly my way, and my shadow magic would bat it to the side. Dark strands shot out of me, hitting every enemy in the gut. One by one, the mages fell until there was nothing left but a pile of bodies in the streets.
Gasping, I leaned down to clutch my knees and stared across at our broken world. The fighting had stopped. No more explosions shook the air, and rebels walked aimlessly through the sudden silent streets. One by one they pumped their fists into the air with a shout. And soon, the silence was replaced by the sound of victory.
The rebels had won. They’d set the Sun Coven free. But it had all come at a heavy cost, one my heart didn’t feel ready to face. From within the depths of the debris, I spotted Magister Salvatore’s bent body, and the broken remnants of the rest of the council and team of Enforcers. Not a single one of them had survived. My entire coven was gone.
Chapter 35
“We won,” Anastasia said as she stood from the rubble of the building. “Those motherfucking assholes are done.”
Bodies littered the ground, and I had to avert my gaze. As glad as I was that the fight was over, I didn’t feel quite as elated about the situation as Anastasia. We had suffered heavy losses. On both sides. Three covens and a band of rebels had come together in a life-altering clash. I didn’t know where we would go from here, and I couldn’t be certain this was the end.
The Bone Coven would now be in ruins. Who would lead them now? While they deserved far more and far better than what the Magister had given them, the mages of Boston now had no central power with which to look when there were supernatural issues.
Dorian must have felt the weight of our actions as much as I did. He sat on the curb, his head tucked down into his hands. He had curled in on himself, blocking out the harsh light of day, but I knew it had nothing to do with his reaction to the sun and far more to do with the loss of our coven. He’d been a loyal member for longer than I’d been alive, and this would be a blow to him in a way I probably couldn’t understand.
“Dorian,” I said quietly as I eased onto the curb beside him. “We didn’t have another choice. They launched the attack. If we hadn’t fought them, so many more mages would have died.”
“I know, Zoe,” he said, his voice tight. “But knowing we did the right thing doesn’t make the truth any easi
er to bear. Even though we won, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. It feels more like the demons have somehow conquered us all, turning us against each other instead of keeping our eyes on the true threat.”
“That may be true,” I said, “but we have the means to stop them now. All we have to do is get the blade and close the veil. And then I’ll travel the world for the rest of my days if that’s what it takes to destroy every last demon that Wagner has pulled through. Until they’re completely eradicated from this earth.”
“Well, I’m coming with you,” Laura said as she knelt before us.
Anastasia sighed and rolled her eyes, but then she nodded as well. “Yeah, alright. Me too. Can’t let you mortal beings run around without some vampire protection. No offense, Dorian, but I’m stronger than you, and I don’t have to worry about pesky sunlight on my skin.”
“None taken,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I certainly couldn’t imagine a years-long mission on the road without your unique personality along for the ride.”
Anastasia’s lips quirked. “You didn’t mean that as a compliment, but I’m taking it as one.”
“Of course you are,” he said, shaking his head and standing from the curb. “Alright, it sounds like we have a lot of planning to do.”
Now that another mission was on the cards, Dorian had abandoned his emotions and turned back into his usual terminator mode. Focused on the task at hand, eyes on the prize. I’d seen him do this enough times by now that I knew the steps by heart. It was easier for him to ignore those feelings that were churning deep inside of him. He’d push them away until he had a quiet moment alone, but that kind of moment wouldn’t come. Not for awhile.
Eventually, he would need to deal with his guilt and his pain, but for now it was easier to focus on something else. Hell, it was easier for me as well. Once the veil was closed and the demons were destroyed, then we could focus on our losses. We could find a way to rebuild, figure out a way to get our coven back and turn it into something that was better than it was before.
I didn’t know how and I didn’t know when, but together we could figure it out.
But first, I needed to get my hand on the Witch’s Blade.
When we returned to the blade room, the Elders were waiting for us. But instead of the victorious expressions I’d expected them to sport, their foreheads were creased with deep wrinkles and their lips were pulled down into frowns.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Don’t tell me the fighting isn’t over.”
“It’s over,” one of the Elders said after a heavy sigh. “In more ways than one. We fought so hard to protect this blade, hoping you would be the one to close the veil. But something terrible has happened. Somehow, it’s been stolen. The blade is gone.”
Chapter 1
We were screwed. The Witch’s Blade—our only hope for survival—was gone. And, as far as I could see, the only reason someone would sneak in during a massive battle and pluck it out from under all our noses was that they planned to use it. And closing the veil wasn’t the only thing that weapon could do.
“It must have been your Magister Salvatore,” one of the Elders said while he swiped a smudge of dirt from his face. He’d been swept up in the exchange of magical fire on the dust-caked streets, just like the rest of us. “He’s been angling to get his hands on it all this time.”
Glancing at Dorian’s stony expression, I shook my head. “I saw him fall in the fight. Magister Salvatore is dead. It couldn’t have been him.”
The Elder’s eyebrows lifted to his receding hairline. “Your Magister is dead? Then, who is in charge now? The second-in-command, your Summoner?’
Dorian’s scowl grew deeper. “Unfortunately, Salvatore never appointed a Summoner. I know he was looking into candidates, but he never got that far.”
“And from what we saw on the battlefield, the entire council is gone as well.” I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, trying to block out the images of bodies littering the dusty ground. So many mages had died today. The air had filled with smoke and magic and screams, and there was no doubt in my mind that the covens would never be the same again. We’d turned on each other in ways that we never had before in all our shared history. Just in time for someone to steal that blade and prevent us from saving us all from extinction.
“I saw many fall as well,” the Elder said with a sigh. “Rachel and I are the only two Elders left on our side.”
Rachel nodded and leaned heavily against the stone-carved wall. “It’s not just the Sun Coven and the Bone Coven that got hit hard today. I saw a lot of blood mages out there, too. Not many of them made it.”
“So, we’ve all lost a lot of people,” I said, my heart squeezing tight. “I feel like I should be happy our side won, but I don’t feel that way at all. We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves. The covens are falling apart, and if we keep this up, there won’t be many of us left to fight the demons.”
“The only ones left will be the shadow mages,” Dorian mumbled.
My breath felt punched from my lungs as I turned to Dorian, my eyes widening into moons. “You’re exactly right. They’re the only ones who haven’t been affected by this.”
“And we should be glad they aren’t involved,” Rachel said, swiping her long blonde hair away from her ashen face. “This battle would have been a whole lot worse if they’d decided they wanted the blade.”
Dorian cocked his head as his eyes locked on mine, and understanding passed between us, our bond clinching tight. Ever since we’d spent the night together, I’d felt even closer to him. Before that moment, we’d felt linked, but it was much, much more than that now. If I closed my eyes, I could feel his presence humming underneath my skin, his breath whispering from my lungs, and his desires filling up my mind. He knew what I was thinking now, even before I said it.
“The Witch’s Blade can only be wielded by shadow mages,” Dorian murmured as he turned toward the Elders. “You said it would be difficult for anyone else to even carry it. And who is capable of sneaking in and out of this place undetected? Who would choose that approach?”
Laura gasped and clutched my arm. “You think the shadow mages took the blade?”
“If Wagner got to them?” I asked with a shrug. “Then, it’s entirely possible they’d want to open the veil so they could control a demon army. They’re filled with darkness. Why wouldn’t they want some demonic servants?”
“It makes sense, Rachel said with a grimace. “Which means we really are screwed.”
Anastasia cleared her throat, and we all turned to stare at the vampire. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked something akin to sheepish, her sharp teeth nibbling on her bottom lip. “So, listen. Don’t get mad at me.”
“Oh god, what have you done now?” Dorian snapped.
Anastasia narrowed her eyes. “Well, if you’re going to take that kind of attitude, then I’ll keep the fucking information to myself.”
“Anastasia?” Laura said softly. “Please tell us. You know how Dorian is. He’s like this with everyone.”
“Hmm,” Anastasia said while crossing her arms. After a moment of intense silence, she finally shook her head. “Alright. While we were out there fighting, I caught the scent of a shadow mage. At first, I thought it was Zoe, but then I couldn’t spot her anywhere.”
“Okay. You weren’t wrong though. That was me,” I said. “Dorian and I had to break out of the cells, so we were late to the fight, but we did get there in the end.”
“That’s just it though,” she said. “The scent was there long before you showed up. Then, it disappeared and came back again. That’s when I looked over and saw you.”
“So, you’re saying you smelled another shadow mage out there?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Before Dorian and I joined the fight?”
“I did.”
“Are you sure it was shadow magic and not bone or blood?”
Anastasia laughed. “Zoe, I knew you were a shadow mage far before you ever
admitted it. We all did. The Daywalkers, I mean. The aroma is unmistakable. It’s a spicy sort of scent that cuts through everything else and fills the room like a thick fog, just the way a hot curry does.”
With a nod, Dorian said, “Well, that confirms it then. A shadow mage snuck into the middle of things while we were too distracted by the fighting, and she stole the goddamn blade.”
“I don’t think she needed to sneak in,” Anastasia said. “If she was down there on the streets, she was fighting. Or pretending to fight. Which means, she was using some other form of magic to avoid getting caught out.”
Laura gasped. “Which means she’s learned how to masquerade as another coven member.”
Realization crashed over me like a tidal wave. I knew how this story went. Hell, I’d done it myself.
“It’s someone who’s pretending to be a member of another coven,” I breathed. “Someone else who has faked it, which means it could be anyone. There’s another Zoe Bennett out there.”
“And this one?” Anastasia said, raising her eyebrows. “Wants to destroy the veil.”
Chapter 2
“We need to go back to Boston and talk to Belzus,” I said, pacing across the stone floor. “He’s the one who put the wheels in motion. He’s the one who got me here. He knows far more than he’s ever let on, and maybe he can help us find the blade.”
“Who is Belzus?” Rachel frowned. “Sounds like a fae name.”
“That’s because it is one,” I said.
Rachel sucked in a sharp breath and turned to her fellow Elder, whispering something too low for me to hear. After a moment of hushed words, she turned to me with a harsh glint in her eye. “You should not have involved the fae in this. They are dangerous, and they do not suffer human emotions like we do. They are cold and calculating and could very well be working with the shadow mages.”
The Bone Coven Chronicles: The Complete Series Page 60