Bane

by Trish Milburn

  Sarah gives me a hard look, and I realize that my words are being influenced by the darkness inside me.

  “It was spelled for a reason,” Sarah says. “I trust that it’s a good one, even if it is no more than protecting Penelope’s remains.”

  My instincts tell me it’s much more than protecting a body, but either Sarah truly doesn’t know or is choosing to not tell me. Can I really blame her? If the Bane have stayed hidden all these years, what kind of sense does it make for them to reveal their biggest secrets to someone who might very well turn out to be an enemy?

  “So what now?” I ask.

  “I’m willing to help you as much as I can, but ultimately it’s up to you.”

  Which is more than a little scary since I feel a little less like me every day.

  I try to be quiet the next morning when I leave my bedroom because Toni is still sleeping. She had a late night of talking and canoodling with Egan on the couch. They were curled up asleep when we returned from the cemetery, but she made her way to my bedroom sometime in the wee hours.

  I’m surprised to see Egan is already sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop open, a huge mug of coffee next to him, and a perplexed look on his face.

  “Didn’t expect to see you up so early,” I say as I slip a cinnamon pastry in the toaster. When he doesn’t respond, I glance back. “What’s wrong?”

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.”

  “That’s specific.”

  He looks up at me then. “Do you think there are any other coven witches like us?”

  “Ones who aren’t totally evil?”

  “Yeah. Maybe even ones who want to ditch their covens but don’t know how?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I would have bet money I was the only one until you showed up on my doorstep.”

  “And I didn’t think it possible until you did it.”

  “Why are you asking?”

  He taps the screen of the laptop. “I got an encrypted message at one of my e-mail addresses, one my family shouldn’t know about. Someone is claiming he wants to join up with us.”

  I round the end of the table and read over his shoulder. It’s a short message but one that poses a whole new set of questions.

  Egan looks up at me. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” I say. “Could someone else in your coven have sent it?”

  “Anything’s possible, but I doubt it. My firewalls have firewalls, and none of my family members are anywhere near as good with computers as I am.”

  “Still doesn’t mean it’s not a trap. Did you respond?”

  He shakes his head. “Not sure I should, just in case.”

  I stare at the short message and wish I would get a gut feeling about it. “Nice to think we could increase our numbers on this side though.”

  “Three versus a gazillion instead of two versus a gazillion. I feel safer already.”

  But this message has me asking a lot of what-if questions. “Is there a way we can respond and keep ourselves safe? Like if you respond, will they be able to tell where you’re at?”

  “There are ways around that if you know how to do it.”

  “Do you?”

  “I might be able to work some computer magic.”

  “I think it’s worth finding out if this person is legit. And while you’re at it, figure out a way to find out if there are others.”

  “That’s a tall order,” he says.

  I squeeze his shoulder. “I have complete faith in your hacker genius.”

  He snorts but gets to work.

  I pour a cup of coffee, retrieve my pastry and slip into the chair opposite him. “So, we went out to the cemetery again last night, and Sarah showed up.”

  “She sure likes that place.”

  “Seems it’s full of former Bane members. She’s also offered to help me try to access all my white witch powers if they’re even still hanging around.”

  “How do you do that?”

  “Seems it comes down to good decision-making for however long it takes to purge the darkness.”

  “Any idea how long?”

  “Nope. Would be much easier to have some sort of cleansing ritual or something, but I guess that’s too easy.”

  “Well, I guess you could start with the good decision to refill my coffee cup.”

  Instead, I toss a corner of my pastry at his head.

  He dodges it and laughs. “Pretty sure that’s a bad decision.”

  I know he’s teasing, trying to ease my anxiety, but I have to wonder if maybe he’s right. Does every move I make have to be pure as the driven snow? How exhausting. By the time I drive the darkness out, I may be too spent to fight the covens.

  After finishing my breakfast, I head for the shower. But when I enter the bedroom, Toni is awake, sitting in the middle of bed in a rumpled T-shirt from her Firefly collection. It sports the word “Shiny” in a metallic script. I motion toward the newly dyed streaks in her hair, purple where they used to be pink. “I like the purple, though it’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “Yeah, felt like a change.”

  “Surprised you had time to do a dye job last night.”

  “Doesn’t really take that long. Did it while Egan was ordering pizza and doing some work on the computer.” She smiles. “Turns out you’re not the only witch who likes the purple.”

  I stick my fingers in my ears and start saying, “La-la-la-la.” I still hear Toni laughing at me. When I lower my arms, I grow more serious. “I’m glad for you both. It was about to kill me seeing you like that.”

  “I’m glad, too. But don’t think that means I’m not going to make him pay for a while.”

  This time I laugh.

  “What did you and Keller do last night?” Toni asks.

  “Well, let’s see. Rule found the names of the other missing witches, and the three of us went out to the cemetery where Penelope’s crypt is. The original Bane members are there, too.” I tell her about the Celtic symbols on all their grave markers and how Keller and Rule were both able to touch the crypt, thus proving that it’s only spelled against dark witches. “And Sarah made an appearance to tell me I’m not a white witch, at least not yet.”

  Toni stares at me for a moment. “So, a boring evening then?”

  “Even more boring this morning. Egan got a message from someone claiming to be another coven witch wanting to defect.”

  Her eyes widen. “You believe them?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know, but your boyfriend’s doing some techy magic to see if it’s legit or a trap.”

  Toni rubs her bare arms, and I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the weather outside. “How much danger do you really think we’re in?”

  The darkness twists in my middle. “More than I care to think about. If I can’t access the full powers of a white witch before the covens find us, I wouldn’t lay odds on us coming out of another fight alive.”

  Sudden banging on the bedroom door makes us both jump. “Guys, we need to talk,” Keller says.

  Toni and I look at each other before rushing for the door. When I open it, Keller is pacing across the room with a worried expression. Looks like it’s going to be an eventful morning.

  “That can’t be good,” Toni says.

  “It’s not,” Keller says as he stops and stares at us. He holds up his phone. “Just got a text from Dad.”

  “And how is Señor Evil Hunter this morning?” Egan asks, his dislike of Rev. Dawes abundantly clear.

  Keller spares Egan a quick look of annoyance. “Worried. The covens aren’t our only problem anymore.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” I say.

  “Seems Amos Barrow has taken an interest in you and Egan, and if Dad’s source is right, Toni and me, too.”

  Toni utters a curse word I’ve never heard her say. I can’t blame her. Though the covens have stayed off hunters’ radar screens through strategic use of their powers—meaning killing an
y hunters who even got close to finding us, there isn’t a witch alive who hasn’t heard of Amos Barrow. He’s only the most notorious hunter working today. Even the meanest poltergeists and vengeful spirits eventually fall to him.

  Word is he doesn’t have a soul, that he will kill anything not one hundred percent mortal human with not an ounce of remorse or the blink of an eye. Stories vary, but his kill tally is freakishly high. Some in the covens are even convinced he’s a myth. Maybe he is because if he isn’t, why haven’t the covens taken him out of play long ago? But I’m not willing to stake my life or any of my friends’ lives on him not being real.

  For several stunned moments, we all just stare at each other.

  “Did your dad say whether Barrow knows where we are?” I ask.

  “He doesn’t know.”

  The darkness churns within me at the thought of facing Barrow. It wants this fight, one it’s certain it can win. I might want nothing to do with that darkness, but I don’t plan to lose to Barrow either. And I’m not going to let this latest blow cause my friends to lose faith. We have to stay positive, confident we’ll come out on top of whatever challenges come our way.

  “Well, this is a pain, but we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing,” I say. “Training with every kind of weapon we can get our hands on, researching every nook, cranny and lead we find. And if I don’t have my full power under control when we have to fight, then we’ll do the best we can.” I just hope it’s enough to keep us all alive.

  “We need to warn Rule and his family,” I say. “They may not have magic like us, but Amos Barrow doesn’t recognize shades of gray.”

  Keller nods, and I feel his approval. He knows that in this moment my good side is winning the internal battle.

  “We need to abandon the cottage,” Egan says. “Too many places for a person to hide nearby.”

  He’s right. A lot of the cottage’s charm lies in the thick vegetation around it, vines and hedges and shrubs. It was perfect when we wanted to stay hidden. But those things also make it dangerous when you want to see your enemy coming in time to prepare.

  “We need high ground with an unobstructed view,” I say.

  “Like where we’ve been training,” Toni says.

  “Exactly.” I motion to our surroundings. “Let’s pack up, make this a quick move.”

  Nobody says anything about the fact we’re going to be breaking into the old farmhouse and becoming squatters. In the bigger picture, those trespasses are nothing. If the owners knew what we’re trying to protect them, everyone, from, they might just give the house to us.

  As we load up our few belongings, I call Rule and tell him about the latest development with Barrow.

  “You could stay here,” he says. “We have room.”

  “No. It’s too dangerous. We’re going to stay out at the farm.”

  “Are you heading there now?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  I know he’s going to resist what I say next but I say it anyway. “I want you to stay at home. You and your family don’t even need to be seen talking to us, not when Barrow might be watching. We don’t need to draw his attention to you all.”

  “But he’s not going to be able to tell we’re anything other than normal humans.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to judge you guilty by association and not stop to ask questions. Just trust me, it’s better this way.”

  Rule tries to argue more, but I don’t budge. This feels like a right decision, and I hope it is. Rule, Fiona and Adele have done enough for us. I can’t ask anything more, not when it puts them in danger.

  Next I call Sarah and spill everything all over again.

  “Do you think it’s really safe for you and Egan to stay with your friends?”

  I hate that she’s asking me this, reminding me that every single decision I make will have an impact on whether I become a true white witch. It brings up all my old fears about losing Keller and Toni, and I wonder if my acceptance of their help in this fight was a wrong decision motivated by not wanting to leave them again. But then I think about when my father kidnapped them and had them at his mercy.

  I shake my head. “Barrow and the covens already know about them. I won’t leave them unprotected. I did that once, and they almost lost their lives.” I take a deep breath. “It’s too late for running away. That ship has sailed.”

  After Sarah says she will come by the farm later, we lock the cottage door behind us and head for the vehicles. Once at the farm, it takes Egan a microsecond to unlock the door with a tiny fizz of power. Inside, it’s even more obvious that no one has lived here in a long time. A layer of thick dust coats every visible surface.

  “We can clean some later,” I say. “Right now, we train.”

  Rule ignores my warnings completely and arrives with Adele and Fiona.

  “I told you to stay away,” I snap when Rule approaches.

  He points to Keller and Toni. “If they have the right to make their own choices, so do we.”

  I throw up my hands and walk away.

  Egan and I make an unspoken decision to train well into the afternoon because our friends need to be as prepared as they can be. While Egan and Keller help the others, Sarah arrives and we explore the layers of power within me.

  “What does it feel like?” she asks as we sit facing each other on the front porch, her seeming comfortable in only a light jacket and me bundled up as if I’m trekking along the polar ice caps.

  “Sort of like smoke, really dark smoke. Sometimes it’s more like a coiled snake. It feels like it’s going to strike at anything that threatens it.”

  “Imagine yourself walking down a path through the smoke. If the snake is there, ignore him.”

  I close my eyes and do as she says. I resist the urge to cough when I think I actually smell smoke. It thickens, trying to block me from walking forward.

  “What do you see?”

  “Just darkness.” Suddenly that darkness presses against me, choking me. But then Sarah’s hands are there, taking mine. It’s not the same calming effect as when Keller touches me, but it serves as an anchor to the world outside.

  We keep at it all day with only occasional short breaks. By the time I think I might see a glimmer of light beyond the smoke, I’m spent.

  “That’s enough for today,” Sarah says and releases my hands. “You’re exhausted.”

  “When I open my eyes, I discover that I’m not only bone tired but also soaked in sweat despite the cold air.

  “I know it’ll be difficult, but try to get some good rest tonight. You’re no good to yourself or anyone if you’re so fatigued you can’t even think straight.”

  When Sarah leaves, I manage to drag myself inside where I find Adele cleaning.

  “How bad are things going to get?” she asks me without preamble.

  “I don’t know, but the potential for very, very bad is definitely there.”

  She turns away with a look of distress written across her features in bold strokes. “I can’t lose Rule. I lost his father to cancer when Rule was small, and it about killed me. I can’t imagine losing my son.”

  I place my hand on her shoulder. “I will do everything within my power to make sure he stays safe, that all of you do.”

  She looks at me and holds my gaze, assessing. “I believe you.”

  Adele doesn’t know how much her confidence means to me, but it also frightens me. What if I fail her? Fail them all? What if I’m not strong enough? I mentally shake myself. Enough of the doubt. I have to believe with every fiber of my being that we will prevail.

  As the light begins to wane, Adele and I go outside to where the others are repacking all the gear. I notice that Keller has shifted some of the weapons to Egan’s Jeep. It strikes me that it really does look like we’re preparing for war.

  Chapter Eleven

  We all have a renewed determination during training the next morning, all of us understanding that each
tick of the clock brings us closer to the inevitable battle for our lives.

  The darkness inside me knows it’s fighting for its very existence, too, because it struggles to force me into bad decisions. Snapping at my friends, giving in to my anger as Sarah tries to help me navigate toward that elusive light. When I feel myself get closer to the light, a surge of happiness goes through me. “Yes!”

  “Good progress,” Sarah says. “But you’re a long way from where you need to be.”

  “I know that,” I snap, annoyed that she’s throwing water on my flicker of success. When I realize what I’ve done, I sigh. “I’m sorry.”

  “Just keep working at it.”

  When Sarah leaves to go to work so she doesn’t draw undue attention or suspicion from anyone who might notice, Rule walks up to me.

  “Grandma said we should go through the rest of the material in the basement today while we have the chance.”

  “I’m not sure that’s the best use of our time now. We found the Bane.”

  “Maybe we don’t find anything, but maybe we do.” He gestures behind him where the others are putting away the weapons. “Besides, we’re about as good with all that as we’re going to get.”

  I’m still not sure, but sitting out here waiting for attack holds little appeal, too.

  “Do you really think Sarah’s telling you everything?” Rule asks when I continue to hesitate.

  “No.”

  “Then keep looking on your own. If nothing else, it shows her you’re not just going to sit back and accept what snippets she gives you.”

  I like that idea. It gives me a surge of confidence. I step close to Rule and kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Everything.”

  After a couple of hours of mostly useless research, I pull the Ending Book to me and go over it again. But nothing new reveals itself. I know with absolute certainty that the answer to everything is on that missing page of the Beginning Book. I know Sarah doesn’t fully trust me, but can I trust her enough to reveal we have the Beginning and Ending books?

  Unable to sit still any longer, I go upstairs for a soda. Fiona is standing behind the front counter of the shop.