The town was in such absolute chaos that not a single person noticed almost two dozen strangers suddenly standing among them. But I couldn’t blame them. These flames were beautiful and terrifying. Hypnotizing in the worst way.
For a moment, we all just stared.
Then Tennessee spun to face us. “Emersyn and Tegan, get in there and get these flames under control. Willow show them what they want to see. Hunter, calm everyone down. Dad, we need you to work your cover up magic. Chutney, take Braison and Paulina and make sure there are no animals in danger.”
As he yelled out tasks everyone leapt into action.
“Jackson and Constance, see what the humans are saying. Deacon, make these people get the hell out of here. Devon, Easton, and Cooper, help search and rescue—”
Fire exploded out of the windows in the building next to us. Glass shattered and rained down to the street.
“Shit. Bettina, go help Tegan and Emersyn—”
“On it!” I sprinted down the street after the twins.
As I left, I heard Tenn yelling out instructions to everyone else but it didn’t matter. He’d given me my task. Tegan and Em cut between two of the burning buildings so I raced after them – then slid to a stop.
They stood side-by-side between the buildings with their arms linked and the other raised to the sky.
“NOW!” Tegan screamed.
Their power rolled over me so hard I actually stumbled a few feet. The fire hissed and screeched. It moved like it was trying to flee from their attack, but they were stronger. They both dropped to one knee and pulled. I felt them pulling. The flames shot into their palms. My jaw dropped. They were sucking the flames back. Drawing them into themselves.
Thick black smoke seeped into the blue sky. A white smoke billowed up from the ground and wrapped around their feet. The ground trembled under us. I summoned my magic from deep down inside and called it to my hands so I’d be ready if Tegan needed—
“TINA, SNOW!”
OKAY. I threw my hands up to the sky and pushed my magic out. Pink mist coiled around my hands. The energy pouring out of me was ice-cold and it made adrenaline kick through my veins. I looked up to the clouds and pushed. The sky turned gray. Thick, angry clouds roared over our heads as they rolled in. Lightning flashed within them then shot across the sky like spiderwebs.
The fire thrashed against the twins’ power. It hissed and groaned. Flames flicked out and reached for the clouds.
I SAID SNOW!
The clouds cracked and then little white flecks dropped down on the town. Within seconds the buildings were blanketed with a few inches of thick fluffy white snow. The flames shuddered and sank lower. But the heat burned hotter. Glass shattered and wood groaned. The fire was getting smaller but it was still destroying.
A dark object shot across the sky and I gasped.
But then it started glowing. Tennessee. Golden wings flapped behind his back. Michael’s sword looked like a lightning bolt from this far away. He pulled his arms back then threw them forward and a wall of wind slammed into the fire. The flames sunk lower with every flap of his arms. The fire tried to spread across the ground but rainbow mist rose up and pushed them away.
I couldn’t believe it. We were forcing it out from all four different angles. The magic had nowhere to go. Tenn and I were pushing the flames into the twins as they sucked them in. I forced my magic into the sky, bringing a blizzard down on this fire.
And then the flames vanished.
I collapsed to my knees. My breath burned down my throat and my arms felt wobbly.
Tegan spun around and dove for me. She gripped my hands and squeezed. Her magic wrapped around me…then chased some of that fatigue away. Not all of it, but just that edge that was weighing me down. “Better?”
“Yeah…” I took a deep breath and nodded. “Thanks.”
She said something else but the sound came out all wonky like some cartoon character. I frowned and tried to ask her what she said but I couldn’t get my mouth to move. The world wobbled and spun.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Jackson’s voice was suddenly in my ear. The smell of Christmas washed over me. “Just breathe through it, Tina. You’re all right.”
Everything went clear but I still couldn’t get my legs to work. “What…”
“You’re new to your magic still.” Jackson dipped down and pulled my arm over his shoulder, then lifted me up to my feet. His hand scorched a path across my back to my waist. “I’ve got you, Moonshine.”
I frowned. My stupid heart was fluttering like a damn butterfly. “What happened?”
He chuckled as he mostly carried me back to the main road and over to where our Coven-mates stood talking. “You’ve just got to get used to your new power, love. More specifically, how much you’ve got.”
I looked up at his beautiful profile and my heart hurt. “I’ve got a lot.”
He grinned down at me. “You have a ton. But if you’re not careful you’ll get Witch’s Shock.”
“How do I use my magic at full throttle and avoid Witch’s Shock?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”
I glanced over my shoulder and found Tegan walking beside us with Tennessee and Emersyn behind her.
When we rejoined the group, Kessler started. “Cover up is set, we shouldn’t have any concerns but I will follow up.”
“Animals are all safe,” Chutney said with a soft smile.
Cooper sighed. “We got as many humans out as we could.”
My heart stopped. “What does that mean?”
“It means we were too late for some—”
“What about that little boy’s family—”
“Robby’s family is fine.” Constance pointed down the street to a group of people. “That’s them. I’ll tell Robby.”
I felt Jackson sigh, and then his voice rumbled through my body. “I heard police and fire department report casualties, but they said it was too soon to know how many.”
Tennessee cursed and sliced the blade of Michael’s sword through a metal pole. It broke off in a perfect clean line. Tenn growled and tugged his hair. “Tegan, get us back to Eden. Now.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jackson
I propped Bettina up on the big cozy couch in front of the fire no one had put out before we left. We were back in Coven Headquarters, and Tennessee was pacing the room like a caged tiger. I glanced back down to Bettina who was looking better with every minute. Her cheeks were gaining some color back.
“Here, drink this,” Tegan said and sat on the couch next to her best friend. “It’ll rejuvenate you.”
Bettina didn’t hesitate. She took the steaming mug in both hands and put it to her lips.
Tegan nodded then turned to face forward. She shook her head. Her face was grim.
“What the hell was that, guys?” Royce asked and scrubbed his face. “What just happened?”
Braison frowned. “It was Joseph, just like the other night here—”
“I know, but WHY?” Royce tugged on his hair. “Why? What am I not seeing here?”
“It’s our fault,” Tegan whispered.
Silence.
“What?” Willow said like she was going to be sick.
Tegan sighed and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “That was our fault. That attack on Hamden.”
“But why do you think that?” Chutney whispered.
“Because Hamden is home to some civilian witches and is close to Eden—”
“BUT WHY NOT EDEN?” Royce yelled, his cheeks flushed.
“Because we blocked him out!” Tegan shouted back. She groaned and scrubbed her face. “We used Saffie’s wand, remember? I put up a new barrier to block Joseph from getting to Eden. So he hit somewhere else.”
Emersyn shuddered. “What kind of monster is he? To attack us in one thing, but an innocent human town?”
Deacon spun away from the fireplace, his violet eyes sparkling. “So let me get this straight… We blocked Joseph
out of Eden, and he attacked humans, right?”
Tegan nodded.
Deacon shrugged. “Then let’s put Eden back on the menu.”
Tegan sat up straight. “And only protect the school…”
“Um, what?” Cooper stepped in between them. “And do what with the residents of Eden?”
“Relocate them.”
Everyone jumped and turned toward Tennessee.
Cooper’s face paled. “Tenn, you can’t be serious. This is dangerous.”
“Of course it is. Joseph is vile,” Tenn growled. Objects around him lifted off the ground, but he didn’t seem to notice. “We don’t know what Joseph wants exactly, but we do know that he’s going to keep coming for us until he wins—or we do.”
“But Eden?”
“WE JUST GOT HUMANS KILLED, COOPER!” Tenn shouted, and his face flushed. He balled his fists and closed his eyes, then he shook his head. “He won today. We may have stopped his fire, but he still won. We have no choice. We cannot put the rest of the human world on the block for slaughter to save our own skin.”
Cooper groaned and dropped down to the chair next to him. He shook his head. “Okay. All right, I hear you. So we open Eden back up and make it a ghost town. Then we let him come in—”
“No,” Bettina mumbled with a frown. She cleared her throat. “No, we have to make it look like we’re all still here. Like we’re none the wiser. He won’t attack if he knows we’re expecting it. We have to make it look like Eden is unaware and let him ambush us, then we attack.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Trojan Horse style?”
“Yes.” Tegan nodded. “Yeah, exactly. We’ll use Willow’s illusions.”
“I can do that,” Willow said with a grim expression.
Kessler exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. “We just need a place to relocate all of Eden to.”
Tennessee nodded. “And I know just the place.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jackson
I used to take pride in my ability to be patient. Whatever it was, I could wait. Things happened when they were supposed to. But ever since I’d joined The Coven, that was gone. That peace and calmness vanished. I was a knot of anxiety constantly.
Trey sighed and leaned back against the brick wall. “What time is it now?”
“‘Bout eight minutes since you asked last time.”
Trey’s jaw dropped.
“Damn, Tina.” Warner laughed. “That was cold.”
Bettina’s answering grin made me smile.
“I liked it,” I said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, we know you do,” Warner grumbled.
I glared at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bettina’s cheeks flush a deep pink.
Warner cursed and moved from a crouch to leaning against the wall next to Trey. “He has a point, though. Time is dragging. How long we been out here anyway?”
I looked down at my watch and frowned. It had been a while. Over an hour, in fact. We were in Eden, on Main Street, hiding behind walls and waiting for an ambush. That was the plan, anyway. I didn’t think anyone thought it would take so long. Our Trojan Horse idea was off to a rocky start, but then again, they probably had to wait much longer than this. But this wasn’t Troy, and we weren’t Greeks. Joseph’s attacks had grown relentless, but now he was silent.
I peeked over the edge of the wall out the window and looked around. There were people walking up and down the street, carrying shopping bags and pushing strollers. The restaurant tables outside were full of happy customers, eating and enjoying each other’s company. Cars drove through town. It was any regular evening…and it was entirely fake. Willow’s illusions were nothing to play with. Eden was empty except for The Coven, Trey, Warner, and Harlan. Everything was in place.
The plan was brilliant, too. Empty the civilians out of Eden then hide out and make it look like they were still here. A nice little death trap. When Joseph came sniffing, he would see a casual night bursting with happy civilian life. But the problem was…there was no sign of Joseph or any of his army.
“I just don’t understand why Deacon didn’t do his Devil thing and lure them here.” Trey shook his head and tapped his feet. “Give ‘em a Siren call and then boom, we attack.”
“Dude.” Bettina beat her forehead against her knee. “You did not just say that.”
Trey looked around with a blank face. “What? You’re not anxious for things to go down?”
Warner chuckled and wagged his eyebrows. “Well, we know they are,” his whispered and nodded toward me and Bettina.
“Warner,” I hissed and shot daggers at him with my eyes.
Bettina’s gaze snapped to me. My cheeks warmed, and her eyes widened. Busted. That was what I got for telling my best friend about my night with her. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I was going to kick his ass for it later.
Trey tugged on his disheveled brown hair. “Seriously, though. What’s taking so long?”
Warner’s eyes sparkled with trouble. He leaned closer to Bettina. “Is that what you said the other night? Or maybe it was the opposite —”
Bettina threw her arm out and covered his mouth with her hand. When she pulled back, the bottom half of his face was covered in ice. She arched one eyebrow and pointed her finger at him. “When that thaws out, you may speak again.”
Warner squirmed and tried to claw at his frozen mouth. He looked to me with incredulous eyes and groaned.
I laughed and shrugged. “You did that to yourself, mate.”
Trey frowned and looked back and forth. “What did I miss?”
Bettina’s cheeks turned bright red, and she refused to look at me. “Nothing special.”
Warner shouted through the ice gag and threw himself back against the wall, and his whole body shook as he laughed. He clapped his hands. My own cheeks were burning, so I knew I was blushing. But it was my own fault. I deserved that. Turned out Warner couldn’t be trusted in this area. I tried to keep a straight face, but my lips kept curling up into a smirk.
Trey’s eyes widened. He pointed to me and Bettina. “Did you two…?”
Bettina rolled her eyes. “Can we go back to discussing why you think it’s a good idea to blatantly force our enemies into a trap like we didn’t want a surprise attack?”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and it made the blade of my sword hum. I pulled my phone out, thinking it’d be Tennessee calling but instead found Dean’s name on my screen.
I frowned. “It’s Dean.”
“Hoover?” Trey gawked. “What’s he want? We’re kinda busy—ish.”
Bettina scowled. “Answer it.”
I hit the speakerphone button. “Dean? You okay?”
“What’s going on?” Dean shouted into the phone. “Are you under attack?”
All four of us jumped. The ice on Warner’s mouth melted.
My heart skipped a beat. “No, WHY?”
“Natasa’s Instagram story!”
Bettina frowned. “Who?”
“My ex, Natasa Dokor!” Dean shouted. There was a scuffling sound, and then he was back. “Something is wrong wherever she is—”
Warner gasped. “She’s with the evacuated—”
“Evacuated?!” Dean screamed. “Go look at her story. Now. Hurry!”
Trey was already fidgeting with his phone. He hit a few things, then his eyes widened. “Why the hell would she post a story while in hiding?”
I dove for his phone and yanked it from his hand. As I spun it around, Bettina reached across and tapped the circle icon with Natasa’s name below it. The screen opened up to a dark, candlelit room with some Ariana Grande song playing in the background. I recognized Natasa’s soft round face immediately. She looked exactly the way she had the last time I saw her, with her high cheekbones, straight-cut bangs, and pink-painted lips.
Natasa was lip-syncing to the song and dancing for the camera.
“Dean, what are we looking—”
Natasa froze. Her
eyes widened. “What was that?” she whispered then looked over her shoulder.
Someone in the background screamed. A black shadow passed over the phone then crossed the room. Natasa shrieked and leapt back. The screen jumbled around, and then flames shot over her head. The room exploded, and screams echoed through the phone.
“Oh SHIT!” I jumped to my feet like there was something I could do.
Natasa screamed again, and then her face reappeared in the screen. “HELP!”
And then the video ended and went straight into an advertisement.
“Dean, we’ll call you back!” I shouted into my phone then scrambled to try and pull up Tennessee’s phone number.
Bettina slammed her hand onto the ground, and ice shot out from under her palm. Pink magic coiled around her as a wave of raw power exploded out of her. Trey flew back and hit the brick wall. Warner’s feet slid out from under him, and he flattened onto the ground. I froze and my jaw dropped. I’d never felt that kind of power from Bettina before.
There was a flash of white light, and then Tegan appeared in front of us, with Tennessee behind her.
Tegan’s eyes flared as she looked down at Bettina. “What’s wrong?”
I shoved Trey’s phone at her. “The compound’s been attacked.”
Warner jumped up. “Dean called.”
“There were explosions,” Trey said in a rush.
Tenn and Tegan watched the video—and then their eyes widened. Tennessee’s face hardened, and a wall of energy slammed into me, pushing me back several feet as my feet slid over the ground. He touched the golden bands on his arm, and then Michael’s six-foot-long glowing sword appeared in his hand.
Rainbow mist wrapped around Tegan’s fingers. She tossed the phone back to me then flicked her hands. White boxes appeared on the far side of the room. There was a rush of cold air, and then my Coven-mates were sucked through the portals into the room with us.
Kessler threw his hand out and caught Willow and Bentley before they hit the ground. But his amber eyes were locked on his son. “What happened?”
White light flashed around us…and then we stood in the dark, staring up at a mountain of flames and rubble.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 95