The Rebel Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  A cold chill crawled up my spine and shot into my fingers. I called my magic back to me, and it obeyed without hesitation. The flames vanished in an instant. White smoke billowed from the sand everywhere the fire had touched. It swirled and turned crimson. The smoke slithered across the ground toward Deacon. When it reached him, it wrapped around his body then shot up to the clouds.

  Red lightning flashed in Deacon’s eyes like something out of X-Men. The bolts struck the crimson smoke in rapid fire. The smoke sparked and glowed. It swirled around above Deacon’s head.

  I narrowed my eyes and watched with my jaw wide open. Within the smoke, fiery red lightning bolts thickened in the shape of letters…until they formed words…

  THE DEVIL MARKS THE START.

  Chapter Nine

  Tegan

  The smoke crackled and sparked like a broken power line. The words grew larger and brighter. They looked like a neon bar sign against the blackness. The sky thundered and the ground trembled. Red lightning shot out of Deacon’s chest and struck the ground in a line, traveling across the pentagram to where Bentley stood right behind me. I gasped and spun toward my brother. The red smoke coiled around his feet then slithered up his body like a snake. I lit my body up and raised my hands to shine some light on him.

  Bentley’s amber eyes twinkled like stars. He smiled softly and raised his left arm in the air. He whispered something in the ancient language, and the smoke stretched up and down to his fingers. My eyes widened and my pulse quickened. I knew what was about to happen. Judging by Bentley’s calm, expectant expression, he knew, too.

  No one spoke. I didn’t need to turn around to know everyone’s eyes were locked on our Hierophant’s arm. The red smoke circled around his forearm like a tornado. It darkened from crimson to purple to blue and then to black. After a second, the smoke turned to dust and vanished. Two lines were written in elegant black script on Bentley’s arm, just under his V Mark.

  “What’s it say?” Easton half whispered from somewhere behind me. “Guys...guys, what’s it say?”

  “The Devil marks the start...” Braison whispered back.

  “No, I saw that. What does his arm say?”

  I gasped. Deacon!

  “Deacon?” Tennessee called out before I got my mouth to work. “Deacon, are you all right?”

  My heart filled with pride. My soulmate thought horrible things of Deacon, warned me to stay away from him, yet there he was making sure he wasn’t hurt.

  Except Deacon didn’t respond. I glanced over my shoulder and found our Devil on his knees with his shoulders slouched and his head hanging down.

  “Deacon?” I called.

  Behind him, Emersyn glared at his back. Her face was ashen. “Is he breathing?”

  “Deacon? Can I go to him or do I have to stay here?” Royce’s voice rose in worry, a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from him.

  There was a beat of silence while everyone just stared at Deacon’s nonmoving body...then we all rushed forward at the same time. Royce got there first. He dropped to his knees and gripped both of his cousin’s shoulders.

  Deacon gasped and snapped his head back. His eyes widened, then he blinked rapidly. “Cool, cool, cool. That was unexpected.”

  Royce sighed. “You’re okay?”

  “Yeah, totally normal.” Deacon chuckled nervously and ran a hand over his hair. “What did I miss? Did I see words in the sky, or did I lose my mind?”

  “The Devil marks the start.” Tennessee crossed his arms over his ceremonial white dress. His mismatched eyes stared off into space, looking at nothing in particular.

  “Listen, I’m happy Deacon is okay, but…” Easton turned back to Bentley and pointed his finger. “Can we see what his arm says now?”

  Oh, right. I spun around and found my baby brother standing silently behind us. If I expected Bentley to be nervous under all of our gazes, I was wrong. He was one tough nine-year-old. He held his left forearm out for us all to see.

  I held my glowing hand up and read the lines out loud. “Call upon the Magic Mirror, all chosen wands will shine clearer.”

  “Wonderful,” Larissa mumbled.

  “Well, now, what the hell does that mean?” Royce grumbled.

  Easton groaned. “I hate these riddles. Can’t we get a suggestion box and request easy instructions?”

  “Magic mirror? Maybe it means like our reflection on the ocean?” Chutney said softly.

  “Oh, maybe I’m supposed to conjure a mirror with my magic?” Willow asked.

  “No.” Tennessee cleared his throat. The low, rough edge to his voice sent warm shivers down my spine that I prayed no one else noticed. “It’s capitalized, so it’s referring to an actual Magic Mirror.”

  “That’s a real thing?” Chutney asked with a frown.

  “Glad I’m not the only one who didn’t know,” Emersyn mumbled. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach.

  “A Magic Mirror is a tool we use to help see things as they really are.” Uncle Kessler narrowed his eyes and turned to face my parents.

  My father shook his head. “I never used those, wasn’t my thing.”

  “I did,” my mother said with a nod. “They’re usually full of spells and charms, properly cleansed and magically charged. I haven’t seen one in years, not since Rebecca.”

  “Who’s Rebecca?” Emersyn asked.

  “The Hierophant when I was a child, two before Cassandra.”

  I frowned and looked back over to Bentley. Everyone always acted like our Hierophant was supposed to have all the answers, but my brother certainly didn’t. Though he definitely was more knowledgeable and connected than before. If this Rebecca had and used a Magic Mirror, maybe it had something to do with the Hierophant. Maybe it was the locket. If I remembered correctly, there was a nice reflection off that thing. Besides, we went through hell to get it, and it had all the secrets.

  “Claudette used to talk about her Magic Mirror, but she’d never show it to anyone.” Uncle Kessler tugged at his bottom lip with his fingers.

  Emersyn sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Who was Claudette?”

  “The High Priestess before Tegan,” my mother said softly, her light green eyes full of pain.

  Wait. Hold up. The High Priestess had one, and so did a former Hierophant, yet no one else in The Coven did or knew about it. So it wasn’t a common object, but the Goddess wanted us to use it. In fact, she didn’t tell us to go find it—she just told us to use it. Meaning we already had it. What will we use it for?

  “That was my next question,” Deacon said and relaxed his crouch in the sand.

  I meant to look at him, but my eyes caught Tennessee’s and refused to budge. His stare held mine with an intensity no one should’ve witnessed. I didn’t look away. Someone suggested it meant we had to make a wand… Then a few others argued over how they were to be made.

  I shook my head and waved my hand. “No, it said chosen wands.”

  Tennessee nodded. “Right. Not something we make, but something that will enhance how we see something.”

  “Maybe it’s saying we have to go find this chosen wand? Like a quest?” Deacon asked, still sitting on the sand.

  “No, that’s way too short to be a quest prophecy.” Cooper shook his head.

  I peeled my gaze off Tennessee and looked to the horizon. The first quest we’d gone on started right at the same beach, kind of late at night as well. For that, the Goddess had used the stars to spell out which Card was to go on the quest. Then during the purification ritual of the locket, Henley used the Tarot to figure out which Cards were required for ritual.

  Wait. Could it be?

  All of our crew were still discussing and debating.

  I turned to Bentley and focused my thoughts. Bentley.

  His golden eyes looked at me. He raised one eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to the side. If anyone else had seen, they would’ve assumed he was deep in thought.

  It means the Tarot, doesn’t it? The back of the c
ards are black, but they reflect everything. Have you seen them before?

  Bentley shook his head, but I recognized the sharp look in his eyes. It was the expression he wore whenever he was thinking really hard. I saw it every time I helped him with homework. Then his eyes lit up. He tapped on the locket and nodded. I had no idea what he’d seen in the ancient jewel, but there was a reason we’d tortured ourselves to find it.

  Did the last High Priestess call the Tarot her Magic Mirror?

  Bentley gripped the locket in his palm and closed his eyes. White light shimmered between his fingers. His eyes moved back and forth under his closed eyelids. After a few seconds, he opened them and looked back at me. He nodded, then pointed to the second line, then made a circular motion with his finger.

  I nodded. Exactly. She wants us to read the cards to tell who is going on the quest.

  “For the Book,” he whispered.

  “Yes.” I grinned. It was a relief knowing someone knew what was coming besides me.

  “Where is the Tarot?”

  “In my bag, in the car.” I shrugged. “No pockets.”

  He smiled. “Go get them. I’ll get everyone ready.”

  I didn’t waste another second. I sprinted across the sand and into the parking lot. The uneven gravel burned against my bare feet, but I didn’t slow my pace. My hair whipped around my body, tangling itself into a knot I’d spend forever combing out. When I got to my dad’s pickup truck, I ran around to the back door. I placed my palm to the handle and pushed with my magic until I heard the click of the lock popping. I threw the door open and dove for my book bag. My Tarot deck sat just inside the zipper, right on top of everything else. I grabbed it and spun back around. I gasped and stumbled back against the car.

  Tennessee stood looming over me, with his arms crossed over his chest.

  I exhaled and pushed my hair out of my face. With my heart in my throat, I shook my head. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “Good.” He narrowed his eyes and leaned close enough for me to get a good whiff of his fresh rain scent but not enough to kiss him. “You need to pay more attention to your surroundings. I could’ve been a demon or spirit. You could’ve been possessed.”

  “Tenn…”

  His arm moved in a blur. He pressed his finger to my lips to stop me from talking. “I can’t lose you, too, Tegan.” His voice cracked, and it broke something inside of me.

  I understood. The idea of…of… I couldn’t even think it. I wouldn’t survive something happening to him.

  I nodded. “I’ll be more careful,” I whispered against his finger.

  He sighed and dropped his hand. “Just stop going anywhere alone. And Emersyn does not count. Wherever you go, take someone with you. Even if it’s not me.”

  “Even if it’s Deacon?”

  He snarled and made this low, growl-like noise that totally did weird things to me. “Even. If. It’s. Deacon. You understand? I need you alive.”

  I took a deep breath. It wasn’t often I got Tennessee to actually talk to me about us, about how he felt for me. These weren’t those three words, but they were damn close.

  I licked my lips and nodded. “Okay, but promise it back in return.”

  He scoffed. “Tegan, I’m—”

  “Not human? I know.” I grabbed a handful of his white gown and pulled him closer. Those three words were right on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. This wasn’t the time or place. “I know you’re amazing and practically invincible. And it’s not enough for me. I need you, too.”

  His heavy gaze traveled over my face then lingered on my lips. “Deal?” He held his pinky up in the air.

  I smiled and hooked my pinky around his. A shot of electricity tingled up my arm. “Deal.”

  He smiled and dropped his hand, though his pinky still held on to mine. “Come on, let’s get back. Bentley is getting everyone set up for you.”

  I let him lead me back to our spot in the sand. We walked in silence, and it was mostly comfortable. The heat radiating off his skin made me want to cozy up and go to sleep. We got back to the group way faster than I wanted. We never got enough alone time.

  Tennessee stomped through the sand away from me. “No one goes anywhere alone for the foreseeable future.”

  “But we haven’t seen a single demon since the night Tegan blew up the fountain,” Larissa said with narrowed eyes. “Maybe they can’t get through yet.”

  “No,” Bentley said with more force than I’d ever heard from him. Him being a prominent figure in The Coven would take some getting used to. “This is the calm before the storm. Tennessee is right. We need to be ready for disaster at every moment.”

  “They’re right.” Uncle Kessler looked each and every one of us in the eye. “No one alone, not even to go to the bathroom at school. This goes for you, too, Tennessee.”

  Mismatched eyes met mine and I smiled.

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  “Okay, let’s get started.” Bentley waved his arm. “We have cards to read.”

  It was at that moment I realized the group sat in a circle with their legs crisscrossed and knees touching. They all had their hands resting on their thighs, palms up. It was an impressive sight with everyone in ceremonial white on the beach. Tennessee walked ahead of me and filled in one of the empty spots on the circle, right beside Deacon. Bentley waved me forward.

  I nodded and walked to the center of the circle, then dropped to my knees. The Tarot in my hand tingled with magic, its energy pulsing with anticipation. I looked up and found Bentley sitting in the circle with everyone else, but he’d positioned himself right in front of me.

  Bentley cleared his throat. “Okay, these two lines mean for Tegan to read the Tarot to see which of us are about to go on a quest. An extremely crucial quest. Everyone just chill where you’re at. We’ll do the rest.”

  “Wait.” Royce raised his hand. “Why talk about the Magic Mirror instead of just saying read the Tarot?”

  “Because it’s not a normal reading, not even for us.” Bentley returned his focus to me. “I’m going to lead the ritual. You just lay the cards out.”

  I smiled. “You got it, B-man.”

  I placed all twenty-two Tarot cards on the sand in a circle shape, face down with the black backs showing. When I finished, I held my palms over the cards. My magic poured out of me in a rainbow mist swirling around my fingers. Bentley chanted a few words in our ancient language, and a jolt prickled my hands. My body glowed brighter than a full moon, yet even still, the backs of the cards looked jet black.

  A shimmery silver wave rolled over the cards from left to right. When it passed over the center of all the cards, a giant II in sparkling metallic silver glistened up at me. A white light flashed over the cards like a firework, then it shot out and slammed into my chest. I flinched and braced myself for pain, but it never came. When I looked down, I saw a glowing white cord connecting me to the cards. First chosen is High Priestess.

  I waved my hands over the cards again, and this time a III glimmered up at us. That white cord stretched out to Emersyn’s chest. Her eyes widened but she nodded. Second chosen is Empress. I repeated the process five more times, and each time the cord connected on someone else. Star. Devil. Wheel of Fortune. Magician. The Fool. I frowned. Cooper, Deacon, and Royce made sense for a quest—along with myself and Emersyn. However, I couldn’t foresee a reason to have Willow and Chutney go. They were young and not at all prepared or willing for combat. She has a reason. I just gotta remember that.

  I paused with my hands over the cards, trembling slightly. Seven Cards had been chosen. Not only was that a lot, but that was how many we took on our last quest. And Tennessee wasn’t selected.

  My brain screamed in panic. My heart thundered through my entire body. Please select him. Please select him. I took a deep breath, then waved my hands over the cards again. A burst of white light blasted out from the cards then shot over to Tennessee. I sighed. Thank Goddess.

  I heard
a round of relieved sighs throughout the circle. I smiled. Apparently I wasn’t the only one counting on having our Emperor on the quest. I cleared my throat and repeated the process again, except that time the cards remained stoic black and the tingling energy was gone. I nodded and met Bentley’s stare.

  “Okay, we have our next quest list.” Uncle Kessler stood and brushed sand off his legs. “Tegan, Emersyn, Cooper, Deacon, Royce, Willow, Chutney, and Tennessee.”

  Bentley sat up straight and looked down to his left arm with wide eyes. “GUYS.”

  The quest prophecy?

  Bentley nodded without taking his eyes off his arm. Words etched into his skin. Everyone scurried to the center of the circle. Bentley raised his arm higher for everyone to read.

  Where only Eden and the chalice knows, Your fate lies in The Book of Shadows. Between the balefire the runes shall dance, From within the cauldron comes your chance.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Bentley shushed me.

  He waved his hand in the air. “No one speak. I need to process this. Cooper, watch my dreams tonight and make sure I don’t miss anything.”

  Chapter Ten

  Emersyn

  “We’re gonna do what?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Open your ears, Deacon. He literally just told us.”

  “Yeah, but…but…it’s crazy.”

  Please stop talking. Stop smiling. Stop being everywhere I go. A girl couldn’t even go to training session without him being all over everything.

  Something moved in my peripheral, except when I looked, I only found Tegan watching me. Great. My twin was way too observant sometimes. Always. She was going to ask me what my problem was. Again. Except I still didn’t have an answer. Deacon just irritated me. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly, and until then, I couldn’t talk about it. I’d only sound insane.

  My chest burned to breathe. The pain spread down into my stomach. I’d had about a dozen Rolaids before training, but all the exercise must’ve made them wear off sooner.