They all laughed and mumbled things under their breath. My own jaw burned from how hard I smiled. They were right—he’d just been freaking incredible. And without magic. I looked over at him, expecting to see the usual cool, calm confidence, but instead I found him blushing. As in, his actual cheeks were pink. He chuckled and pushed the longer strands of his golden bronze hair out of his face. My heart soared. I was so proud of him. That angel Michael had no idea what he was going to get, and I had zero doubts that Jackson would succeed.
“All right, all right,” Kessler said with a laugh. “Let’s keep this simulation going.”
Tegan jumped forward and skipped over to Kessler. She pressed her left hand to the magical gear and grinned. “It’s my turn.”
Without hesitation, or permission, Tegan ran to the start. The second her beat-up combat boots crossed over the white line and into the grass, about two dozen demons popped up at the same time.
I gasped and stood up straighter. That hadn’t happened for anyone else. Kessler frowned and took a step forward. He opened his mouth like he was going to tell her to stop, but then Tegan dropped to her knee and slammed her hand into the ground.
A wall of rainbow mist shot out of her like a tsunami. The wave of her magic rushed forward. As it hit each demon, they exploded into blue dust…and Tegan hadn’t even moved again. It was something out of a movie, like when Thanos snapped his finger in Avengers: Infinity War, and everyone turned to dust—but faster. The second they were gone, Tegan vanished in the flash of a light and reappeared by the column. She touched the orb and grinned as the golden light shot into the sky.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Jackson shook his head. “Am I the only one who thinks that was cheating?”
“Tegan. That…that was… What…? Why did…?” Kessler slammed his mouth shut and shook his head. There was a small smirk on his face that I suspected he was trying to hold back, and his amusement was obvious in his eyes. He sighed then gestured toward the rest of us. “Tegan, you’re fired. Go sit down.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tennessee
There was only one part of becoming coven leader I hadn’t planned for.
I hadn’t even known to plan for it. At least then I might’ve prepared myself somehow. But no, no one warned me. Perhaps everything had just happened too fast. Then again, it tended to always happen this fast when it came to new Coven Leaders. Old Leader died, new Leader elected...new Leader moved into old Leader’s office.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair at my desk in my new office.
All of it Timothy’s.
My father once told me Timothy had made his own furniture. Which meant this desk was made by his hand. Same for the bookshelves and filing cabinets. Same for the nifty wooden rack next to the desk for hanging weapons on. Same for the chairs and coffee table in the front part of the office. Hell, I’d heard he’d been the one to construct the bathroom that connected this office to Constance’s. The only part he hadn’t made himself was the chair I was currently sitting in. But Constance told me he’d specifically picked this one out for optimal comfort and support.
So yeah, it all sucked real bad.
I didn’t know why I expected to come in here and find all of his stuff gone. He’d been Coven Leader for fifteen years, which was a long time to accumulate and store. Everywhere I looked, there were little touches that just screamed his name.
There was a red and black flannel shirt hanging from the coat rack by the door.
I hadn’t moved it. Any of it. I just didn’t have the heart to. It was just too damn sad. Pain and regret surged to the surface. I felt the world closing in on me, weighing me down. I was only seventeen. I shouldn’t have been old enough to be elected. But here I was. Elected. Crowned. Coven Leader.
All of my nightmares come true.
Congratulations, fate, you got me.
Just as my emotions were about to come crashing down, the door opened and my Coven-mates poured inside. All of them. They were all smiles and happy auras. I missed those days, when things were simpler. When the people I cared about were all alive.
Tegan was the last one to walk in, and it was such a damn relief to see her face. Her eyes met mine in an instant, and I knew she was feeling what I felt. She moved past the others and came straight to me. She dropped right into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been more thankful to have her as my soulmate than I was in that moment, when I was about to fall apart. She was strong. A force to be reckoned with. And she was mine. She didn’t need to say anything; she just knew I needed her close.
Royce plopped down on the chair in front of me and wagged his eyebrows. “You rang, boss?”
Despite everything, I smirked. He was so damn thrilled to be able to call me boss now and me not able to say I wasn’t. I shook my head and looked to Constance.
“This is your meeting. Lead on.” She winked.
I sighed and nodded. “All right. There are a few things I’d like to discuss.”
Everyone’s attention turned to me, and all joking vanished. I loved that about them. They played hard, but they took our jobs very seriously.
“Firstly, I want to move forward with the school in Manhattan. If it goes well, then we’ll open more in other regions.” I turned to Deacon. “Your parents have narrowed down a few locations, but I’d like for you and Em to go up and pick the right campus. And to get the school set up and open in general. I trust you, so that’s where I want all decisions coming from. I’d also suggest taking the Pentacle Major with you since she has more experience with a magical school.”
Deacon glanced at Emersyn, and when she nodded, he turned back to me. “Honored to do it, boss. I’ll have my mother send their plane for us.”
“Perfect. Obviously feel free to talk to me about it if you need to.” I took a deep breath then swiveled my chair so I could see my next target. “Chutney, I want you to go to Issale and check in with Koth. No one has spoken to them since Samhain, and I intend to hold up our end of the alliance.”
“Just check in and make sure they’re okay?” Chutney asked. When I nodded, she smiled. “I can do that.”
“Hey, Tenn…” Bentley raised his hand. “Can I go with her? I very much want to speak to their Shaman.”
I smiled. “Of course, but Hunter and Devon, will you go with them?”
They nodded.
“Great. I’ll have Walter fly you up there.” I started to turn away when a thought occurred to me. “Remember, you’re not to speak of Lonan. Whatever reason they had for banishing him is their business and not ours.”
“Who’s Lonan?” Chutney asked with a wink and a smile.
That made me chuckle. But then my next task came to mind, and that cheerful moment flew away. I sighed. “Next…we need to find our new Tower and Judgement Cards.”
“Well.” Constance took a deep breath then let it out. “I’ve been notified of some outbursts of magic from Majors.”
My father nodded. “With the Gap opening and everything, it could’ve triggered a lot of magic to the surface.”
“That’s true…” Constance pursed her lips. “But one of our calls warrants an extra look, in my opinion.”
Thank Goddess. I had nothing to go on there. “Then we’ll trust that. Braison and Paulina, get those details from her, then go check it out.”
There was a heavy knock on my door.
“Come in,” I yelled.
The door opened, then Katherine rushed inside. Her energy was tinged with panic. Her face paled when she saw all of us in here, but then she snapped back into focus. “Kenneth needs the Crones, and you must go now.”
“NOW?” we all shouted in unison.
Katherine cringed. “He took a turn for the worse, and I fear the time has come faster than we expected. Mona and I have tapped our resources.”
I cursed. “Okay. Then we go to the Crones. Now.”
Tegan turned to look me in the eye. “We nee
d to take Bettina, especially given what that Ouija board said.” Then I heard her in my head say, I think we need to take the other four who were there as well.
“All right. Okay.” I glanced around my Coven. This wasn’t a quest from the Goddess with instructions on who to take. This was my call. “Cooper and Royce will accompany me and Tegan to the Crones, but we’re also going to take the students who were there when Timothy…fell.”
Evaline cleared her throat and stepped out from behind Hunter. “May I go with you?”
Interesting. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
She smiled and seemed to relax. “Thank you.”
Very interesting. I had no idea why she wanted to go with us, and there must’ve been a reason for her to ask, but it wasn’t the time to question her motives. Having another hand was never a bad thing.
“One other thing,” Katherine said before I could continue. “I’ll prepare Kenneth for travel, but he cannot go via portal.”
I cursed. “Okay. Walter will fly us to the shore, to where our boat is docked at the marina. Go and see to Kenneth now, please.”
She nodded then raced out of the room.
I turned my attention back to the others. “Those of you I’ve given a task to, go ahead and leave now. I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone, so I want you to hurry back.”
Emersyn, Deacon, Bentley, Hunter, Devon, Chutney, Braison, and Paulina nodded then got up and left. I silently praised them on their efficiency.
“Tegan and Cooper, go gather the students from class because we leave immediately.”
Cooper nodded then walked to the door. Tegan kissed my cheek then hurried to catch up to her brother. Together, they slipped out of my office. I sighed and looked at the ones left. It was just Constance, my father, Willow, Easton, Lily, and Henley. All incredible witches.
I cleared my throat. “I wanted you all to stay here. I need you to hold down the fort. Once we drop off Kenneth, we’ll portal back. But also, we need to see if we can research the Old Lands a little more, specifically the balefire.”
Easton frowned. “You still want to go in there?”
No. Not at all. I nodded. “I can’t knowingly leave one of our own in there, and we promised Warner’s friends we’d help them rescue him. Also, if we don’t go, then Timothy’s death was in vain. We owe it to him to see this through.”
Henley stood and straightened her leather skirt. “I’ll dig up everything I can on the Old Lands.”
“I was there,” Willow said with a shiver. “I’ll help you.”
My father sighed, and his eyes looked haunted. “We’ll look into Joseph. Refresh our memories on that incident.”
I suspected no one had forgotten any details from that incident. It was one of the many horrors in our race’s past, but it was one of the few we’d brought on ourselves. I made a mental note to discuss that past with them when we returned from the Crones.
Constance smiled then left. The four my age saluted me then bounced out the door. Then it was just my father and me. He leaned against the bookshelf with his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile on his face.
“You’re doing an amazing job already, son,” he said softly. “You really are made to lead, but I’m always here if you need help. Just ask.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thanks, Dad.”
He nodded then pushed off the wall and strolled to the door. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at me. “For what it’s worth, Timothy would be so damn proud of you.”
Well…shit.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bettina
“Moving on to what are commonly referred to as oozers.” Mona pointed a wand at the holographic image of a wolf-demon—that I couldn’t pronounce the name of even in my head—and it changed to a demon I’d seen in Kessler’s simulation. “As you can see, they’re taller than most humans, but their shape isn’t that different than our own.”
“They look like those things from Lord of the Rings,” a petite girl said from a few desks over. She wrinkled her nose. “What are they called?”
“Uruk-hai,” I answered.
The boy next to me, David, turned with wide eyes and nodded. “Nerd nation. Respect.” He held his fist out to me.
I chuckled and bumped my fist to his. Wait till I tell Tegan about this.
Mona frowned then looked at her holographic image and pursed her lips. Then she laughed. “I have been forever changed.”
“So how would you kill these Uruk-hai?” someone shouted from the back.
David pointed to me. “Yeah, Legolas, how?”
I snorted. Me? Legolas. That’s laughable. Then a thought came to mind. “I mean a bow and arrow doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
“Until you run out of arrows in two minutes,” Scotty grumbled from behind me on the left. “Then you’re screwed.”
Mona nodded. “He makes an excellent point.”
“Well, yeah, that was always my argument, too. But now I’m thinking…we’re witches.” I leaned forward as an idea began to form in my head. “Why can’t we create a magical bow and arrow set that never runs out of arrows? There’s got to be someone who can make this happen.”
Just then, the classroom door flew open, and Tegan marched inside. I smiled and opened my mouth to tell her my brilliant idea when I noticed Cooper right behind her. Their expressions were stone-cold serious, and it sent a cold chill down my spine. I sat up straight and waited for them to speak.
Tegan didn’t look at me once. She stopped a few feet inside the room and looked at our teacher. “Sorry to interrupt your class, Mona, but we need Bettina. Now.”
My stomach turned. Something is wrong.
“Of course.” Mona looked to me and gestured toward them. “Go ahead.”
I didn’t waste any time in grabbing my stuff and jumping out of my seat. For the first time ever, I saw how everyone was so intimidated by Tegan. Those pale green eyes that were usually full of mischief were now full of power. I felt her magic tingle along my skin. When I got up to them, they just turned and marched right out the door. Oh, God, am I in trouble?
When I stepped into the hallway, I found Harlan and Trey standing there. My pulse quickened. Both guys gave me small smiles, but they were jumpy as hell. My spidey senses were tingling hard core. Something was definitely up. Trey had been in the infirmary with the flu, something must’ve been seriously wrong for them to bring him out.
“Come on.” Cooper turned and stomped down the hall with Tegan hot on his heels.
The three of us exchanged nervous glances then jumped to follow them. We walked in tense silence down the hall to the very end, and then the two siblings moved toward another classroom door.
“Wait here,” Tegan ordered then disappeared.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to the guys as soon as we were alone.
“I have no idea,” Trey grumbled and stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. His brown hair was in complete disarray and his eyes had a wild spark, but he didn’t look concerned.
Harlan sighed and pushed his long shaggy blond hair off his shoulders. “They haven’t said anything yet.”
The classroom door flew open, and then the two siblings came rushing out…with Genevieve right behind them.
“Let’s go,” Cooper said. Without pausing, he stormed over to the door that led outside.
Gen froze in the hallway. Her eyes widened as she saw us and her face paled. “Is it Erin?”
Oh my Goddess. ERIN. I’d been to see her twice since I’d been let out of the dungeon, but no one would say what was wrong or if she’d heal. Whatever that shadow creature in the Old Lands did to her it was obviously not an easy fix. Wait…Is that why they’re here? Has she…fallen? My heart pounded in my chest. The four of us stood like statues in the hallway staring at Tegan and Cooper’s backs as they walked away.
Tegan stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder. She frowned and curled her fingers…and then my body floated over the hardwood floors and flew to
ward her. I peeked to the side and saw my friends doing the same. We wobbled and cursed and tried not to panic. About a foot away from her, Tegan held her hand up, and we dropped to the ground.
“Erin’s condition hasn’t changed. This isn’t about her.” Tegan nodded once, then turned and pushed the door open. “Come on.”
I cursed and sprinted to catch up to them. No one spoke as we crossed between buildings. I wasn’t even sure if any of us were breathing. A minute later, we stopped outside another classroom, and then the siblings slipped inside, leaving us gasping in the hallway. This time, they were only in there maybe five seconds before the door opened and they came rushing out.
Jackson emerged from the room right behind them looking like a million dollars and pure torture. He wore a navy blue long-sleeved henley shirt with four buttons open on his chest. With his dark blue jeans and brown boots, he could’ve been modeling for Ralph Lauren or something. My heart hurt just looking at him, yet I couldn’t take my eyes away. His aquamarine gaze met mine, and all of my thoughts vanished. My body warmed. All I wanted to do was reach out and touch him, and it was the most frustrating thing in the world.
A bright white light flashed in front of us. I hissed and covered my eyes…and then my body was doing that floating thing again. A rush of cold energy washed over me, and then the light faded away. I blinked and looked around—and gasped. We were in the lobby of the Swords dorm. In the blink of an eye, we’d gone from one side of the campus to the other. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to Tegan’s portals.
Tegan glanced up and down the lobby then turned to us. “We’re traveling to the Crones. Now. Kenneth cannot wait another minute. You’re all coming with us so we can try and get down to the bottom of what happened to Timothy. Be in the courtyard ready to go in fifteen minutes. Do not make me come drag you out there.”
She turned and flicked her wrist. That bright white box reappeared in the middle of the hallway. She grabbed Cooper’s arm then pulled him toward the light with her…and then we were alone in the lobby.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 38