by Jen Stevens
I felt sick thinking of all the times his beady eyes glared at me, knowing exactly what he'd done. Proud of his duplicity and the lives he took for a cause that was just as malicious as the forces he was supposedly fighting against.
All those Movement members were supporting a monstrous murderer. They were feeding him power when he deserved to rot here in the spirit world, where he'd unapologetically sent his own friends.
“Storie, we know how much this hurts, but you have to know that we're at peace. Our purpose was to protect your life until you found your Quarter, and we've done that,” Aunt Ash assured, looking to my parents for confirmation. They both voiced their agreements, and she went on.
“It's imperative that you don't dwell on your resentment over what he did to us. Don't let it lower your vibrations and bring you down to his level. You're so much more powerful than he is. Use that power to save your coven and town. They need you right now. We'll be here waiting for you when it's time.”
“They aren't my coven,” I corrected waspishly.
“Of course, they are. You're a Counter.”
My vision fluttered to the cabin again. Enzo was slumped face down onto the table beside me in a pool of blood leaking from his nose. Rhyse was swaying in his chair, his eyes stuck at half-mast, and Lux was collapsed onto the floor. Remy's panicked expression tethered me to the cabin before the tugging sensation in my belly button stopped and I knew it was over. They were gone again.
And once again, I didn't even get to say goodbye.
Chapter 34
Remy
Storie's sleeping body was draped across my lap on the couch as Rhyse, Lux, and Enzo lounged on the floor around us. They were too fatigued to make it up the ladder to the loft where our cots were set up. It's been hours since the seance and the three of them were finally regaining their energy.
Energy that they focused strictly on berating me for wasting our one true shot at communicating with our ancestors. I didn't care, though. I'd do it a thousand times over if it meant making the sleeping woman in my lap happy. They'd never understand that.
We would find another way.
I should have known better than to push them when they were already so low. I just assumed it would be easiest on the night when access to the underworld was most available. It seemed as if the moment any of us exerted our power in any way, the looming cloud of black magic that hung over the town syphoned it and used it to grow even stronger. Whoever cast that spell knew exactly what they were doing.
“It seems as if you're completely unconcerned with us finding our Counters and gaining our strength back since you've found yours,” Rhyse complained for the hundredth time.
Even Lux and Enzo were growing tired of hearing the same old argument.
“Once we decode the passages in the Book of Shadows, everything will become clear,” I reassured in a bored tone.
That had been our biggest obstacle outside of the darkness. It was safe to assume everything our fathers taught us about Counters was spun in some way to benefit them. Lux thought they purposely didn't teach us the Quarter language so that if we ever got our hands on the book, we still wouldn't be able to read it. He spent hours poring over each page and always ended up with nothing to show for it.
The spirit element threw us off as well. We had no idea what it meant or how it affected us. Was there a fifth Quarter? That hardly seemed to make sense, though we were learning that the most confusing things we found were usually closest to the truth.
I didn't want Storie to hear our bickering and blame herself. She was already upset with the abrupt ending to her visit and condemning herself for the condition of the others when she finally came to. I tried to convince her to escape before they woke to spare her feelings, but she refused to leave their sides. She had fallen asleep waiting for them so she could apologize.
These asshats didn't even care.
“With Samhain behind us, we can work at gaining the trust of our coven and taking our positions back so we have full access to town records and our father's studies.” Lux was always the voice of reason.
“Their studies have been cleared out,” Rhyse whined. He picked at the lint on his pants distractedly.
He was right. Especially now, our fathers were going to keep any information they had about us under lock and key. But it didn't matter. Now that we knew Tabitha Granger had our Book of Shadows, the rest of the information could be anywhere—including her office.
Storie shifted in my arms and her eyes fluttered open. They slowly adjusted to the light and then gazed up at me, a sleepy smile forming on her lips. Just before I leaned down to kiss her, she bolted upright.
“I'm so sorry, you guys. I ruined your chance.” She parroted the same words in self-deprecation that Rhyse had been groaning since he woke up. When I looked down at him, all the anger he'd been spewing at me was wiped from his face.
All talk of the events from the night ceased once she woke up. None of them were willing to dig into her as much as they had already done to me, and she wasn't allowing anyone to tell her she wasn't to blame.
We all agreed on one thing: every piece of information we've received from our fathers was completely unreliable and if we didn't find answers soon, we weren't going to survive this war.
Chapter 35
Storie
“They know, Storie. They know you’re a Counter,” Tabitha’s panicked tone startled me from across the house. She breezed past me and Blaire lounging on the couches and began gathering candles, crystals, dried herbs, and other random items from the altar, shoving them all into a bag.
“What does this mean, Grammy?” Blaire was the first to stand, reaching out to help Tabitha before she was swatted away by old, weathered hands.
“It means they’re coming for you. For all of us.”
My mind reeled, my limbs frozen in place as Tabitha and Blaire buzzed around me, grabbing more to shove into the impossibly large bag.
“Your mother’s stuck at the Rafferty birth, but she’ll join us when she can. Storie, you need to warn Remy that we’re coming.”
Blaire disappeared down the hallway, mumbling to herself.
“To the cabin?” I shook my head, imagining the horrors that would happen with Tabitha Granger under the same roof as all four Quarters. Even Blaire had been a loose cannon around them, and she's far more timid than the woman who raised her. It had only been a few days since Samhain, and they'd barely forgiven me for ruining their chance at finding the truth. They'd never let me live this down.
“No, that's not a good idea. Isn't there anywhere else we can go?”
“Quit worrying and go help Blaire pack a bag. I've gathered your things from your room, they're on Blaire's bed. Only bring the bare minimum,” she instructed.
That was an ironic order considering she appeared to be packing everything except the kitchen sink, but I knew arguing would be a waste.
Blaire was already halfway packed by the time I walked into her room. Tabitha had haphazardly thrown all of my belongings into a large pile on the bed. I was about to turn to Blaire to ask what would be considered essential in this situation when she appeared beside me and dumped out my duffel bag. Small pieces of home that I couldn't bear to part with when I left fell into a mess on the floor.
“We need to move fast,” she said breathlessly as she threw random pieces of clothing into the bag. I reached around her and gathered my toiletry bag and clean underwear just in time for her to swing the top over and zip it shut.
She turned and walked out of the room without another word, shutting the light off on her way. I followed her into the kitchen where she and Tabitha were slinging their bags over their shoulders. One of them shoved a black tote into my chest so hard, it knocked the wind out of me, but I barely had time to recover before the next one was thrown my way. Once we were loaded up, we walked through the unlit hotel office and headed south toward the cabin.
I had walked this exact path enough times to know that the streets did not line up
the way they appeared to do with Tabitha and Blaire.
“How are you doing this?” I panted, struggling to keep up with their fast pace.
We took another turn that should have been a residential street but ended with a path into the woods, instead.
“Hush, girl. We don't have time.” Tabitha's signature vague response irritated me more than usual. Where I was hardly keeping up, she didn't even sound out of breath.
She and Blaire had just stepped onto the dirt path when I was dragged backwards by the handle of the backpack I wore. A scream tore from my chest, forcing Tabitha and Blaire to turn around. Their wide-eyed, horrified expressions only made me kick against the cement pavement harder, making it more difficult for my captor to tug me along with them.
“Quit fighting it,” Rayner's familiar voice ground into my ear. He jerked my body upwards and slammed me back onto my feet like a small child.
I called out for Tabitha and Blaire to help me, but they hadn't moved from their spot in the mouth of the woods. I watched in terror as Tabitha's lips moved to say something to Blaire, then her back turned to me and she dragged her granddaughter by the wrist behind her. Blaire never took her eyes off me, and the green glow haunted me far after they disappeared into the pitch-black woods.
Rayner hauled my lifeless body through the uncharacteristically deserted streets until another path into the woods appeared. I'd lost all sense of direction along the way and had no idea what side of town we ended up in when he threw me to the ground and kicked at my side.
“You can walk yourself from here. Try to run, and we'll just catch you,” he warned. His hands brushed against the lapels of his suit coat, then tugged at them to straighten it out.
I tripped and fell multiple times on the messy forest floor, slipping on wet leaves as my hands got stabbed by pine needles. Rayner appeared to float over the fallen branches and tangled vines, hardly stopping to wait for me to gather myself or wipe the caked dirt away from my only pair of jeans before he moved on.
I knew based on the maps I'd studied of Beacon Grove that all the woods surrounding the town belonged to the Quarter families, save for the Graves’ sliver of land. This part appeared to be even more untouched and uncared for than the portion that led to the cabin. Still, Rayner navigated the twisted, darkened path with ease, as if he'd walked it thousands of times.
Just as my legs were nearly about to give out, a large bonfire came into view. The soft light reached deep into the forest and illuminated the area enough for me to see the obstacles in front of me and dodge them. There were several silhouettes standing in a silent circle around the tall flames, waiting.
“We've arrived!” Rayner called out, throwing his fist into the air.
The group turned in our direction at once and cheered back. Others came from around the opposite side of the pit and joined in the celebration as soon as their eyes landed on me.
I was able to identify numerous familiar faces in the growing crowd of people. Maisey from the diner, my regular barista from The Grind, Esther from the library.
“It's finally time! We've hit many roadblocks on the path to gathering our missing piece, but the gods have rewarded us for our patience.”
Roadblocks.
He meant my family. The people who stood in his way and were bulldozed over as if they didn't ever matter.
My monster awoke from his slumber, lighting a fire in my chest that burned ten times hotter than the one that blazed before me.
“What are you going to do, Rayner? Kill me? Remy and the others will never let that happen,” I provoked, hoping my words were right.
I just needed to buy some time.
Rayner’s roaring laughter made me jump, which encouraged the crowd of people surrounding us to chuckle at my expense. I gritted my teeth and staved off the monster for a little while longer.
“We’ll get to that in a little while. For now, I want to savor this moment.”
He turned toward his sickening group of followers and lifted his arms in victory. For a long while, he just stared at them in contentment. It was creepy and confusing and made a few of them nervously shift on their feet.
“For almost all my life, I’ve strived to take down the Quarters and end their reign on our coven. To strip them of their power and transfer it to someone more deserving.”
A few cheers interrupted his speech, but he ignored them and went on.
“I watched as their grandfathers slaughtered my father in the street and stole away my brother, tearing apart my family limb from limb. I later learned that my brother was taken prisoner by the Quarters and forced to work as a Counter slave for them to protect their precious gifts.”
Rayner paused to hear the surprised gasps erupt from his audience. He nodded in approval, then continued speaking. He paced the ground before me with his hands clasped behind his back.
“That knowledge sparked the beginning of the Movement. You see, these families have done nothing but lie to us and take advantage of our generosity toward them in order to hold onto their own gifts and capitalize off our fear. The Quarter elders have convinced us that Counters were to be killed to strengthen their powers, even though the exact opposite is true. They knew they needed their Counters alive to continue protecting the coven, but they’ve put us all at risk by convincing us to kill our own people so they could weaken their sons and hold onto their power for a little while longer.”
He shook his finger in the air and tilted his head to the side, a smirk tugging at his lips.
“But our Quarters have figured out the truth.”
He stopped pacing and looked off into the crowd, allowing this newfound information to marinate with them for a brief second. I found Silas in the sea of faces, noting that his expression remained stoic through Rayner’s attack on his integrity. He knew it was coming.
“Thanks to their fathers, Watchtower’s current generation of Quarters is weak and defenseless. And we’ve been able to prove it. We tested their gifts by casting a simple black magic spell on Mabon, when their shield should have been impenetrable. Not only were they unable to stop the spell from being cast, they have even gone as far as allowing it to grow and flourish while they remain absent. They’ve hunted down our daughters for their own personal gain. They’ve hidden away in their mansions that were paid for with our hard work and left us to fend for ourselves.”
A few angry shouts sounded from the back of the crowd, cursing the Quarters for their inability to protect them.
“I know, I know,” Rayner agreed, his eyes twinkling mischievously in the firelight. “It’s time for a change. That’s why I’ve gathered you all here tonight… why I’ve brought this girl here. She is Remington Wildes’ Counter.”
Two large men came up from behind me and grabbed my armpits to hoist me out of the dirt. The tip of my Converse barely touched the ground as they held me up for the crowd to see my face.
“We’re going to send a message to these boys about how the new Watchtower is going to run without them being a part of it.”
The men lifted me higher, and the forest boomed with the Movement member's raucous cheers.
The monster clawed at my chest as fear took over. He was desperate to break free and show these people the ancient magic they were really dealing with. The Quarters may be able to control the power, but I had full access to it as a Counter. I just needed to figure out how to do it without Remy near.
Before I could manage to make a plan to break free, the men began walking me toward a cross that sat beside the fire with a pile of potent, gas-soaked wood surrounding it.
My heart nearly beat out of my chest as I realized what was about to happen.
They were going to burn me at the stake.
I writhed in my captors’ arms, finally recognizing one of them as Beau. I pleaded with him to show mercy as he had before. To remember that we were neighbors, and he knew I wasn't a threat. But just when his eyes began to soften and his grip loosened the smallest amount, Rayner slapped him acro
ss the face.
“Don't listen to her, Nephew. You've already failed me once. Do it again, and your body will burn right beside hers.” I heard his low voice mumble into Beau's ear threateningly.
Beau's eyes hardened once again, and he looked away from me to begin helping the other guy tie me up to the wood.
The icy burn of panic ripped through my core as the leather straps were tightened on my wrists and ankles. When they released me from their grips and left me to hang, the pressure from my weight made the straps cut deep into my skin. My throat burned from the gasoline and the desperate screams that were tearing from my mouth, begging these people—my friends and neighbors—to save me.
Not one of them stepped forward. They just watched in complete astonishment as my body was left hanging from the wooden cross and Beau and the other man sloshed more gas around my feet. Rayner was saying something in the background, but all their attention was on me and my cries of terror.
Realizing that I'd stolen his audience, he stepped over to me and whipped a thick branch across my face, stunning me into silence. The bark tore at my skin and within seconds, hot blood poured from the wound and down my neck. The pungent air and my salty tears stung against the raw flesh, and I wanted to wail even louder just to spite him but decided to reserve my energy for an escape plan.
When he was sure I wouldn't interrupt him again, Rayner continued his twisted speech. I blocked him out, concentrating solely on the crackle and pop of the flames beside me. I slowed my breathing to the sounds and escaped deep into the bowels of my mind, just as I had with the wails coming from the hotel. I imagined Remy's face and prayed to the gods that it would work.
Within seconds, my eyelids fluttered closed, and everything went black.
Chapter 36
Remy
“What's going on?” I asked as Tabitha busted through the door with Blaire in tow. I craned my head, expecting Storie to come stumbling in behind them, but Blaire slammed the door shut.