I grinned and my heart fluttered. She spoke in the ancient language, but I understood every single word.
“Roots of runes and strength in soil, Breath of life, rough breeze to spoil,” Tegan chanted and thrust her arms forward. Her rainbow magic shot towards us. “Smoke and ember, cinder and ash, Waves of rage and tides that crash.”
Cold energy slammed into my face. I gasped and it curled around me then whipped faster and faster until there was a sparkling tornado wrapping around me. The ground rumbled and sent vibrations up my legs. A pink cloud billowed out from under my feet and rose up.
“Blood and bone, heart and soul entwine, I seek the path to secure what’s mine.”
Tegan shouted, but when I looked up, I couldn’t see her through my magic.
“Feel this power within my bones, Bind it there as mine alone!”
Sharp pain shot down my spine. I gasped and my back arched. My magic exploded out of me. Ice covered every inch of my skin. My knees crashed into the ground, and ice spread out from under me. The pain eased, and my entire body went cold.
Something flashed out of the corner of my eye. When I looked up, I found Tegan completely submerged in a ball of rainbow magic. Behind her, Emersyn stood in a pillar of fire. I glanced around and found each of my Coven-mates wrapped up in a swirl of magic in various colors. Over to my right, Tennessee hovered two feet off the ground with magic flickering all around him. Chunks of dirt whipped in tight circles. Big golden wings popped out of his back and flapped behind him.
There was a flash of golden light like a bomb had gone off.
I hissed and threw my arm up to block my face. Icicles hung from my sleeves and the tips of my hair. A few seconds later, the light vanished. I blinked over and over, but my eyes still had those glowing orbs hovering in them.
“Woooo!” Deacon cheered and jumped up. His violet eyes were wild and his blond hair disheveled. “Now that was fun.”
Royce laughed and flicked vines off of him. “I feel juiced.”
“Yeah.” Kessler laughed and nodded. “I could break something right now.”
Tegan stretched out on the grass like a cat taking a nap. “Nicely done, Bettina.”
Tennessee looked over his shoulder. “The wings are kind of creepy, right?”
“Or kind of hot,” Tegan said with a grin.
“Anyone want some crystals?”
We all looked over and found Constance standing in a mound of crystals of every shape and color. Tegan dissolved into bubbles then reappeared at Constance’s feet. Royce got there second, followed by Henley, Lily, and Willow.
Tennessee sighed and shook his head. He tapped the golden bands on his arm, and his wings disappeared. “All right, you’re all dismissed. Go test out your magic. Make sure it’s working properly. Let us know if anything feels wrong.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Jackson
“Hey, Jackson!”
I froze at the sound of Tennessee shouting my name. Everyone else walked back inside Coven Headquarters. I felt their energies stronger than I had before Bettina’s spell. Whatever she did to us, it was strong. I looked down at my arms, but I didn’t look any different. I just felt different. Not a lot, just slightly. Like putting lotion on sunburnt skin.
When Tenn’s energy tickled the back of my neck and made my arm hair stand tall, I spun around. I cleared my throat and tried to put on a good face. But this shit with Trey just kept burning. “Hey, Tenn.”
He glanced over my shoulder and nodded to someone, then turned his mismatched gaze to me. “Firstly…how are you doing?”
I raised my eyebrows. A chatty Tennessee was a new thing. “Um…bloody amazing?”
He frowned then his expression softened. “No, I meant— Sorry, I’m not good at the whole talk-about-your-feelings thing…but I know I’d be a freaking wreck if I was in your place. I know Trey was close to you.”
“OH.” I sighed and it exaggerated all the cracks inside me. I licked my lips and rubbed the back of my neck. My cheeks warmed. “Yeah, I’m…uh…not real good at that, either. But…uh…bloody hell, I think I’m falling apart over here. If I’m being honest.”
He nodded, his dark brow furrowed over his eyes. “There were a few weeks where I thought Tegan had betrayed us. So, I understand. You’re new in The Coven, but we’re a family. Don’t hesitate to reach out to someone if you need to. Obviously, I’m not the best candidate.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, Tenn. I appreciate it. You said firstly, so is there something else?”
He cleared his throat, and his awkwardness vanished. The powerful Leader we all knew returned in an instant. “I need you to do me a favor.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, all right. What is it?”
“I need you to go down and check on the girl in the coma. I need to know if a Mark appeared on her yet.”
I frowned. “You want me to leave Eden in a time like this?”
Tenn grimaced. “No, but we need to find our Tower. He or she might be able to make the potion we need to finish Joseph for good, and I’d at least like to know if we’ve got the right person.”
“I see. Right, that makes sense.” I ran my thumb over my bottom lip.
“We’re pretty certain it’s this girl in a coma. I just need you to go check on her. Katherine went and gave her healing potions already, so I need to know if they’re working.”
My stomach tightened into knots. “And if Joseph returns?”
“You’re a highly valued member of this Coven, Jackson. Don’t misunderstand this. But when he returns, it won’t be a fight by sword.” He cursed and shook his head. “Besides, Tegan can portal to get you in seconds if it comes down to that.”
I didn’t like the idea of leaving Eden at our weakest point. But I understood where he was coming from. Both the notion that our success could come down to this Tower Card. And also, Joseph’s demise would require extreme amounts of magic, not a skilled sword. Regardless of my abilities. I needed to not react sensitively to this. If I’d learned anything about Tennessee Wildes since I’d met him, it was that he did everything for very specific reasons—not unlike his soulmate.
I took a deep breath and prayed we wouldn’t regret this. “Okay, you’re the boss. Whatever you need me to do, I will do.”
Tenn sighed. “Thank you. And to show that I appreciate you doing this, Bentley?” He looked behind me again and nodded.
Bentley bounced over carrying a book. “Howdy, Jackson.”
“Um, hello, Bentley.”
Tenn tapped on the book. “Tell him.”
“Tell me what?”
Bentley looked up at me and grinned. “I tracked down your soulmate.”
My breath left me in a rush as the world spun around me. “You what?” I summoned my magic, waiting for him to repeat what he’d just said in case I misheard it.
“You asked me to, remember?” He shrugged. “Well I did, and I succeeded.”
The blue truth rune flashed on his chin.
My jaw dropped. “You found my soulmate?”
“Yup. I found her.” He tapped on his chin as the rune appeared again, like he knew I was checking.
I glanced back and forth between him and Tenn. My heart raced. “D-do you have an address of where I can find her?”
“I’m so glad you asked!” He chuckled and pulled out a little piece of paper, then handed it to me. “This is the address for where you’ll find her.”
“Apalachicola?” I frowned. “Is that a word?”
Tennessee laughed. “In Florida, it is.”
“Is this near where you lived down there?”
He shook his head. “Nah, a few hours away. Around the curve of the panhandle. Definitely a different world than where we lived.”
“That sounds ominous.”
He grinned. “It might be.”
I shook my head. “Right. Cool. Okay, so I’m going down to Apalachicola, Florida to find my soulmate—”
“There’s kind of more to that part,” Ben
tley said quietly and with a grimace.
Tennessee and I both scowled.
“Okay, so since Eden has been evacuated, we can’t have her come here with you. Especially since she thinks she’s human. Not a way to introduce her to our world.” Bentley shifted his weight around. “But she’s not safe where she is.”
“What are you telling me?”
“There’s a secret safe house for arcana nearby where you’ll find her, in the Apalachicola National Forest.” He pulled out another piece of paper, with a different address on it. “You’ll have to escort her here—”
“Okay, that’s fine, I guess —”
“But there’s a catch.”
I arched one eyebrow. “Say what now?”
Tenn ran his hand through his hair. “This safe house is a secret. Only The Coven knows it exists unless you’re given access to it. You’d be allowed in simply by the Mark on your arm. However, she must have a special kind of magical token in order to get in. Like it’s an actual magical barrier, not just some bouncer at the door.”
I cursed. “Bloody hell. What do they do there?”
Tenn frowned. “Well—”
“That’s not important right now.” Bentley opened up the book in his hands, except it wasn’t a book at all. It was a secret storage box disguised as a book. “You’ll need this.”
I leaned down to get a closer look. This was a red velvet necklace with a charm hanging from the middle. The charm looked like a clamshell but prettier. I reached down and ran my finger along the material, and the energy rolling off of it tingled against my skin.
“Why do I get the impression you’re not done?”
“There’s a pearl that’s supposed to be inside the charm. You have to find it on the beach of St. George’s Island.” Bentley sneezed. “Sorry. Right, so Michael told me to have you wear Henry’s crown—”
“I’m sorry, did you say Michael?”
Bentley grimaced. “Yes. As in the archangel whose sword you just found. Listen, he came to me with this mission and told me to guide you.”
The blue truth rune flashed on his chin again.
I cursed. “Lovely. All right, just to recap. First, I have to put on Henry’s crown and walk this beach to find some pearl, which I’m assuming I’ll be led to by the crown. Then I take the necklace and bring it to this other address in Apalachicola to find my soulmate. I have her put this necklace on. Then I escort her to the secret safe house in the forest and leave her there with undoubtedly a million questions and concerns. That about right?”
Bentley nodded. “Those are the instructions, yes.”
The blue truth rune flashed.
“After all that, you’re going to check the girl in the coma.” Bentley handed me another address. “Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.”
I shook my head. This was a lot of information. “Okay, what’s the girl’s name?”
Tenn opened his mouth then shut it. “You know, I don’t know. Paulina said she felt the girl’s magic as soon as she got out of the car, so I think you’ll be able to find her easily.”
“She has pink hair, in case that helps.”
“She’s also been in a coma since Samhain—Halloween—so that should give you something to go on.”
I nodded and stared down at the book-box and addresses in my hands. “And you’re certain it’s okay for me to go look for my soulmate now instead of getting right back?”
Tenn looked down at the glyph lines covering his fingers. “I wouldn’t have been able to last this long in your shoes. So yeah, go find her. Get that off your chest. Then get back. When this is over, she can come to Eden.”
“All right. Thanks.”
Tenn pointed to his head. “Go on and get that crown. When you come back down, Tegan will portal you to that beach.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Jackson
Bright white flashed all around me. When it faded, I looked out the front windshield of my truck and frowned. “This is it?”
Tegan leaned against my open window and shrugged. “This part must be important if Michael sent you. That’s all I know for now, but I’ll talk to Bentley and get more info on it. But for now, good luck!”
“Thanks,” I grumbled.
She winked then disappeared.
I sighed and leaned back against my leather seat. I knew I should’ve been more excited about this. My soulmate wasn’t far. I was finally going to meet her after all this time. I just… I just kept seeing Bettina’s face in my mind. It didn’t feel right. None of this felt right. I just kept praying that when I found my soulmate, all of this pain would go away. That it would be love at first sight, like it was for Tenn and Tegan.
Quit bloody stalling, mate.
I reached down and picked up Henry’s crown, then slid it onto my head. It felt lighter than it had while on my quest, though I wasn’t sure if that was in my head or not. I shoved the book-box under my seat then hopped out of my truck. I couldn’t lie—Tegan being able to portal my truck with me was super cool and very convenient.
Warm, salty air swept over me. I took a deep breath and let the smell of the ocean seep into my bones. It had to be a whopping seventy degrees out, despite the fact that it was December. My long-sleeved shirt was thin, but not near thin enough for this warmth. I could already feel the sweat pooling under my arms and dripping down my back.
I paused outside my truck. After I found this pearl, I was going to meet my soulmate, and I didn’t exactly want to be a sweaty, disgusting mess. Oh hi, nice to meet you. Pardon the smell.
I glanced around and found there weren’t any other people out. Up ahead there was a playground and a row of wooden townhouses, yet not a soul in sight. To my left were some picnic tables, small houses, and even a lighthouse—yet still no one. To my right was the beach.
I shrugged and pulled my shirt up and off, then tossed it onto the driver’s seat. It was the beach—shirts were definitely not required, and I did not want to sweat up a stink. Besides, the warm air felt nice on my bare skin.
Okay, problem solved. Now quit stalling.
With a sigh and a cluster of knots in my stomach, I headed straight for the wooden dock. Bentley had said it was on the beach, so that was going to be my first place to look. My foot hit the wooden planks, and neon red lines shot across the ground. I blinked and stopped walking. Just like before, on my quest for Michael’s sword, the crown was giving me a visual. Except this time…I wasn’t sure what it was.
I hurried down the wooden dock, the boards creaking under my weight as I flew by. About twenty or thirty feet later, I came up to an opening on either side of the pathway. Each side was covered and had a section of wooden picnic tables. But the red lines weren’t leading me there. As I headed back down the walkway toward the beach, the lines began to really take form.
I stopped.
On the shoreline up ahead, there were pirate ships in neon red lining the beach.
And then I saw it—a narrow glowing red line that stretched out from right under my feet. I sprinted straight down the dock, over the grassy dune area, and then onto the beach. My boots sank in the sand. A gust of hot air slammed into my face. I sighed and breathed it in.
If I wasn’t here on a specific mission, I might’ve sat down and really soaked this place in. The sun was setting, so the sky had these really soft shades of blue and yellow and orange. The combination made it look almost the same exact color as the sand. The ocean blended into the horizon then disappeared.
Focus, Lancaster.
You’re here for a reason.
To protect my soulmate. It was strange to think that I was searching for an object to protect someone I hadn’t met who was supposed to mean more to me than anything else.
Bettina’s face flashed in my mind, and pain shot through my chest. I hissed and rubbed at the spot. That’s not gonna help me. I needed to hurry up and get this over with. I needed to meet the girl destined for me so I could hopefully stop hurting so damned much.
Oka
y, okay. Where’s the guide line?
I looked around in a bit of a panic before I spotted it again. Oh right. Under my feet. I followed the line with my eyes only to discover it led me directly into the ocean. A straight shot from where I was into the water. I was going swimming. Bloody fantastic. I’ll smell AND I’ll be wet.
I kicked my shoes off then wiggled my toes in the soft powdery sand. Then I froze as an idea came to me. After a quick glance, I found I was still all alone out there. I unbuttoned my jeans and slid them off, then stepped out of them. Now only my boxers would be wet. I left my phone and truck keys in my jeans pockets then headed for the water.
The waves rolled gently over my feet. The water was warm, kind of like a bath. I strolled through the tide, following the red glowing line until the water was up to my shoulders. I took a few deep breaths then sucked in one big one and dove under. The saltwater stung my eyes, but I couldn’t let it bother me or slow me down. My oxygen wouldn’t last forever. In my years of training, I’d managed to work up to three minutes of holding my breath. Timothy had insisted upon being prepared for anything.
Now I was glad he had.
There wasn’t a lot of light seeping through the surface, but the line glowed enough on its own. I pushed my arms harder and kicked my legs faster, diving deeper and deeper. And then the line disappeared. I frowned and dove for the spot where it stopped—and my fingers hit something smooth and soft. The ground moved, and something leapt toward me.
I gasped and little air bubbles left my mouth. I flicked my hands, and blue flames filled my palms just as a gray, circular object swam at my face. I ducked down, barely missing the two-foot long barb protruding off the back. Stingrays. Lovely. I spun around and saw the red line going under about a dozen stingrays. I flicked my flames through the water, and the rays fled. Sand flew up in a muddy cloud around me. I waved my arms in front of me until the water cleared a bit.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 100