“Wait, you can do that?” some guy in the back asked.
“Honestly? No. No witch has that much power. Not even the entire Coven together could rip it open…but like most things, there’s a loophole. The twins share blood, and essentially are the same person. They were the only ones able to do this. When they did, all hell broke loose, literally. Thousands and thousands of demons came pouring in. Many of our race was killed. In a panic, The Coven killed the twins, only to learn after their deaths that the only way to permanently close that Gap was with the twins. So they did the only thing they could—they put a temporary seal on it.”
“This is where it gets interesting,” Lennox whispered.
“Yeah, not sure The Coven would use that word,” Mr. Ruth said with a chuckle. “When they put their seal on the Gap, the entire composition of the dimensional wall was altered, and as a side effect, hundreds of other, smaller gaps popped open. Not all at once, but over time, and spread out. After The Coven managed to put the temporary seal in Salem, a prophecy showed up, one that is so eloquently called Salem’s Prophecy.”
He pointed to the chalkboard and snapped his fingers. Eight lines of words appeared, written in beautiful script.
Before I could stop myself, I read them out loud. “From the swords new twins are born, a single choice thy Goddess warns. When Powers of Light and Dark combine, beware the time will entwine. Once Samhain’s sunset finds thee well, Invoke thy magic to unlock the spell. By midnight they must make the call, for Coven or demons to rule them all.”
“Whoa, dude. You read that all creepy-like,” Lennox mumbled. “I like it.”
“The Goddess told the Hierophant of that time that she would send the prophecy again, on the summer solstice of the year it was to occur.”
“Wait, what?” I shook my head. “Summer solstice is in June. Samhain is October. That doesn’t leave them very much time.”
“Indeed.” Mr. Ruth shook his head. “Salem’s Prophecy showed up to the Hierophant Cassandra George this past June, on the summer solstice. As you know, today is August 28. The Coven has two months. Right now, eight members of The Coven are inside the Old Lands—”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s basically not part of Earth,” Lennox answered for Mr. Ruth. “It’s another dimension, kind of. Rumor has it that’s where the Garden of Eden is. Most people who go in the Old Lands never come back out, and if they do, they’re messed up psychologically.”
My eyes widened. “Why would they go in there at a time like this?”
“The Coven is in mortal danger every single day.” He shook his head. “And they went because they had to find the lost Book of Shadows, which contains the answers they need. We just have to hope they come back out.”
Chapter Sixteen
BETTINA
“So, where are we going?” I asked Lennox as she parked the car.
She’d insisted on taking me out to have some fun and to buy some fun décor for my side of the room so it would feel more like me. We’d gone up to the room to drop our school stuff and so I could change clothes. I wanted to put on something cuter, but when I opened my suitcase, I discovered I didn’t have any cuter clothes. After throwing everything out of the bag my mom packed, I had the sudden, sinking realization that all the fun stuff I used to wear was actually Tegan’s.
Lennox looked feisty and funky in her black crop top and high-waisted black velvet pants that flared out wide under the knee. Then again, she always was going to have an edge to her style with all her tattoos and piercings—not to mention the indigo hair. My outfit did not measure up. The best I could do was my faded blue jean cut-off shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt that I wore to cover up the bruises that hadn’t healed. And my white Converses.
“Downtown.”
Turned out Eden was more than just our school. A whole community lived here. Downtown was a few minutes’ drive from campus, and it was pretty much like any other town. Restaurants, stores, movie theatres, all that stuff. It was definitely not Charleston in size, but it packed the same kind of charm.
The two-lane street was lined with pine trees and red brick sidewalks. Mountains stood like skyscrapers all around us. Each storefront was either red brick or cobblestone, with lots of greenery and flowers hanging around.
I sighed. “Well, I love it here.”
“I knew you would.” Lennox chuckled and stopped beside me. “So I’m taking you in a few of my favorite shops, but first, I need to stop in Nicki’s real quick.” She grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside the store closest to us.
“Hey Lennox.” A petite turquoise-haired girl waved from the counter in the back. “A walk-in beat you here, but Nicki said this guy would be super quick. So hang tight.”
It was a tattoo shop. My jaw dropped. The walls, floor, and ceiling were black. There were two red sofas up by the bay window to my right. All along the walls were white boards with samples of tattoos on them. There were only two counters and it seemed like they had jewelry inside, but they were too far away.
“Sorry Nicki wasn’t ready. He should be done soon.”
“You know, I’m kind of surprised by there being a tattoo shop here.” I frowned. “Though I don’t know why.”
“Ah, well, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill human ink joint. Nicki was a Wand, and he specializes in ink and piercings that have charms and spells.” She plopped onto a sofa and pointed to the silver hoop hanging from her septum. “For example, this nose ring has a charm on it that so long as I have this on, I will never lose or misplace my wand. Then this gold hoop here on my bottom lip will detect if there’s anything funky in my food or drinks, like drugs, poison, or shady potions. Oh, and the little gold studs right on this little ear flappy thing plays music, like built-in headphones. Oh, oh, and my tongue piercing wards off hexes.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? I didn’t know this was a thing!”
“Yeah, it’s sick. Last year, I took my first beauty charms class. I’m in the next level one this year, and it’s so cool.”
“Are there magic tattoos, too?”
“Shit yeah. They’re badass.” She held out both her arms to show me the intricate ink work on her skin that went all the way up to her shoulders. Most of it was black and white, but there were little splashes of color. “So, the trees on my right bicep? With all those green leaves? Well, that tatt will reflect the seasons around me. If it’s snowing out, my ink trees will have snow on ‘em. These flowers across my chest? Well, they only bud at certain times. I’ve got tatts of nocturnal animals that only show up at night. Then on the inside of my wrist is a tattoo that tells me the time, because I hate wearing watches.”
I shook my head. “I…I don’t even know what to say.”
This was wild. Tattoos that had a function. Now that was something I could get into. My parents threatened to ground me for life if I ever got a tattoo, but maybe they owed me something in return for sixteen years of lies.
“What are you getting done today?” I asked.
“I’m getting an ear piercing that will translate whatever I’m hearing into my language. And a lip piercing that will translate my words in another language. I want to be able to visit my brother in Paris next month.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but I saw the glistening in her eyes. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she pointed to something. “Oh my God.”
“What?” I followed her gaze to the street, but I didn’t see anything. “What is it?”
“That black pickup truck over there belongs to Jackson Lancaster. That means he’s down here somewhere. Maybe we’ll run into him.” She groaned and fanned herself. “Did you meet him yet? Wait— Holy shit. You’re a Sword. He’s the Sword Major. You had to have met him.”
I groaned, but for entirely different reasons. Well, not entirely. Just hearing his name sent my pulse into a tailspin. With a sigh, I sat beside her. “Yeah, we’ve met.”
Lennox smacked my arm playfully. “Spill it. He’s only the most popu
lar guy at school, and like every girl’s dream catch.”
I leaned back against the couch. “I met him Friday night at Dean Hoover’s party, before I knew I was a witch. I mean, I saw him and like… I think he’s the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen. Like…he’s…he’s…. Damn it, he’s perfect. And then he spoke, and he has that British accent. Lennox, it’s awful.”
Her yellow-green eyes flashed. “Whyyyyy? I would kill to have an excuse to be near him.”
“My brain just shuts off around him. And my body is a damn traitor, being all attracted to him. You know, he was so nasty to me at the party.” I sighed and shook my head. “When that Ouija board went nuts and tried to kill us all, he came storming in to save the day, but he couldn’t say a single word to me. Like, I don’t know, maybe ‘don’t have a panic attack’ or ‘do you need someone to drive you home so you don’t hit anything on your way because you’re thoroughly freaked the hell out?’.”
“Well, he’s infamous for being quiet. He’s the brooding type for sure, but everyone says he’s pleasant once he talks to you.”
Pleasant? HA!
Lennox pursed her lips. “Then what happened when you got to Edenburg?”
I rolled my eyes. “The second I got on stage for the crystal ball, he glared at me, then when it said Swords, you would’ve thought I murdered his family by the look on his face. You know every other First Year sorted into Swords got a handshake and a hello. But no, not Bettina. Then after, he was super mean to me. I thought maybe he’d be over it by today, but no. If anything, it was worse. For four hours this morning, he was a complete and total asshole to me. He even refused to train me.”
Lennox covered her mouth and laughed. “Girl, you got it bad already.”
I wasn’t sure why, but I jumped to my feet and started pacing. “I can’t, Lennox. I can’t like him like this. It’s just a stupid crush, and it’s only about his looks, and the ab muscles he can’t hide in his tight T-shirts. And those eyes… Have you been to the Caribbean? I haven’t but his eyes might match the ocean down there. Dear God, do you hear me? I’m pathetic.”
“Are you sure you dislike him?”
“Yes. Definitely. Kinda. Maybe. Okay, I’m trying, all right?” I groaned and tugged at my hair. “He’s so mean to me, Lennox.”
“Okay, let’s go over everything he’s said to you. Then we reevaluate and see if he was, in fact, being a jerk or if he was just being British.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal with that anyway? He’s British. Don’t they have school for witches over there?”
Lennox shrugged. “Well, they did, when Eden was in England.”
I frowned. “Eden was in England? Say what?”
“Yeah, so, the location of Eden can change. It has loads of times, and for a variety of reasons. It used to be in Europe for like a long time. Salem Massachusetts was the first location in the States. After that all went down, The Coven moved Eden here.” Lennox narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “You don’t know that story, do you?”
“What story?”
“Girl.” Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “So, for a long-ass time, The Coven ran the world, like even the human world. The monarchs and other royals were mixed in with us. They thought it was the best way to keep both races safe. Yada, yada, yada. But then came the House of Lancaster in England—”
“Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying Jackson Lancaster is related to the House of Lancaster? The ones that led to the Yorks and then the Tudors?” I asked. When Lennox nodded, my jaw dropped. House of Lancaster’s symbol was a red rose. Jackson has a red rose tattoo.
Lennox chuckled. “Yeah, it’s wild. So anyway, you probably learned about the Hundred Years War in your human history classes, but the truth is that was the war with Lilith—the mother of all demons. The only reason we won finally was because the Archangel Michael came down and lent us his sword. Except the guy who had it refused to give it back after they won. He used some kind of spell and like, hid it or something, claiming that Lilith would be back. Obviously, Michael was pissed. He cursed the entire bloodline. Every single one of the witches related to that guy at the time lost their magic instantly. And no one has been born with it since then.”
I stared at her for a long second. She’d just dropped a whole lot of information on me. “Who…who was the guy?”
“King Henry IV, from the House of Lancaster.”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah. Crazy, right?” Lennox nodded and leaned back. “After that, The Coven stepped aside and let humans rule the world, which is when the House of York took over. Eden was eventually moved, then again to Salem—just like every other European. But the point is, Jackson Lancaster is the first person in his bloodline to be born with magic since the year 1413. The only one.”
“How though? Like, why him?”
Lennox shrugged. “No one really knows. But his parents shipped him here when he was like six.”
Wow. I opened my mouth to say something about how much pressure that must be for him when a door hidden in the wall in front of me suddenly opened…and Jackson Lancaster walked out. Oh god. Oh no. Please, just go. My body lit up like a firework. Heat rushed through my veins. My brain went into panic mode, the kind where it just shut down and curled into a ball. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. My chest burned from the lack of oxygen.
He looked so good, too, in his dark jeans and a gray V-neck T-shirt, which was stupidly attractive. It was basic at its core yet my body thought he was on the cover of GQ. His nostrils flared and his top lip snarled. With sharp, heated eyes, he looked me up and down, then down again, his gaze lingering on my bare legs for a second.
Then he leaned closer. “Shouldn’t you be at school training, or do you take pride in your weakness?”
“Okay, back off, Lancelot. It’s my first day.” Asshole. And I was just feeling sorry for him?
“And your work ethic is inspiring already,” he snapped, his words curling with his accent. “Let me guess, getting a tattoo that says ‘role model?’”
That heat I felt turned volcanic, and I did nothing to keep it in. “Yeah, and I’ll put it on my middle finger, just for you.”
His aquamarine eyes flashed. “I beg your pardon,” he growled.
I crossed my arms over my chest to stop myself from reaching out and touching him. “Then. Beg.”
We stared at each other. Neither of us spoke or moved. The Christmas-y scent seeped into my lungs, trying to break me down from the inside out. My heart pounded. My body yearned to reach out and grab him. The air around us sizzled and popped. My chest burned, and I knew I wasn’t breathing. Suddenly, Jackson growled then stormed out of the store.
Lennox was pale and slack-jawed. Her eyes were wide. She shook her head and tried to fight a smile. “Girl, what did you do? I’ve never seen him act like that.”
I was a mess. My body felt like I’d just done a triathlon. My mind was mush. What was wrong with me? Why would I say that to him? OH GOD.
A horrible, awful thought popped into my head. He’d been in the room right next to where we sat talking…while I was talking about him. This could be catastrophic. It was bad enough he didn’t think I was worthy of being a Sword, but if he knew I had a crush on him…that would be mortifying.
Chapter Seventeen
BETTINA
“Whoa, dudette, that is the sickest bruise I’ve ever seen,” Freddy said as he leaned over my arm to inspect all my purple and blue spots.
George giggled. “You look like a leopard.”
“You know, I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” I grinned down at my two young friends, the first two people I’d met here.
We were all sitting on the grass, cross-legged in the middle of a lush courtyard while waiting for class to begin.
Freddy frowned and cocked his head to the side. “Are they just on your arms?”
I shook my head. “They’re everywhere. I’m what you’d call gravitationally challenged.”
George t
hrew his head back and laughed. “I’m glad I’m a Wand.”
“I’m jealous.”
“I wonder if there’s a spell or something to prevent bruises.” Freddy’s frown deepened. “You should ask Harlan the Wand Major. I bet he knows.”
“Or that girl in our class, the cool one—”
“Oh! Lennox!” Freddy grinned and nodded. “Yeah, she’s the one to ask. She’s got all kinds of charmed tatts and piercings. I bet she’d know for sure.”
I smirked. These were really nice kids. I liked them a lot. “Actually, Lennox is my roommate. But that’s a great idea. I’ll ask her and let you know.”
The two brothers looked at each other and high-fived. I chuckled.
“All right class, thank you for following me outside. It’s just too gorgeous out today to be indoors,” our professor Ms. White said. Or Mona, as she’d requested we call her. In the afternoon sunlight peeking through the courtyard trees, her hair looked completely white, but inside the classroom it was actually blonde. “Welcome to First Years class. Today, you’re going to learn how to use your magic.”
I gasped and sat up straight. This is what we were here for. To learn magic. I was both nervous and excited. Part of me was still convinced my being here was a total mistake altogether. I needed to see this magic I supposedly had.
“I want you all to close your eyes and push your thoughts to the back of your mind.” Mona said in a soft voice, almost hypnotic. “Then I just want you to open up your other senses to what’s around you. And breathe.”
I closed my eyes and let the darkness wrap around me. Senses, senses. Open your senses. I took a deep breath, soaking in the smell of fresh-cut grass and trees, of flowers in the distance. In the distance, birds chirped and squirrels jumped from branch to branch. Water rippled nearby. It was so peaceful and serene.
A gust of wind swept over my face, carrying the scent of pine trees. My body tensed. Oh no. I knew that smell. My eyes flew open without my approval just as dark figures emerged from within the trees. They were cast in shadow, but I knew for certain he was one of them. I felt it in the thumping of my pulse and the butterflies in my stomach. It was like my body recognized him before I did.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 10