The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series

by Chandelle LaVaun

  Tegan scowled. She reached around him and snagged the book, then held it up to her face as she read the page. “This definitely should have worked. It’s brilliant and absolutely would’ve worked. Ruth was right. There’s no way this would’ve hurt anyone. Something isn’t right here.”

  Haven leaned over her and read. “Maybe this isn’t the one, then? Though it sure sounds like it. I recognize these runes.”

  My heart fluttered. “Runes?” I grabbed the book to read for myself, but it wasn’t written in English or the ancient language. “I can’t read it, but they look similar to the runes we found in me.”

  Uncle Tim nodded. “Angelic runes.”

  Jackson cleared his throat. “So, what is the spell?”

  I glanced down at the words, but I didn’t have the first clue how to say them out loud.

  Uncle Tim took the book from me then sighed. “I can’t say it.”

  “Why not?” Jackson frowned and glanced between the group.

  “Because it’s written in the angel’s tongue.” Tegan pointed to the page with her black-painted fingernail. “Only a descendant of a heavenly angel could read these words out loud. Anyone else, their mouths and throats would burn with every word.”

  Easton scratched his head and turned to Uncle Tim. “But your sister spoke it?”

  “We did not share the same father. I have no angel blood.”

  Tegan turned to the side. “Rebecca, how close were you when Ruth read this spell?”

  Rebecca shuddered. “Two feet behind her, at most.”

  “Perfect. Listen to this carefully…” Tegan then took my mother’s book and read the spell. Out loud.

  Rebecca gasped then nodded wildly. “That’s it. That’s exactly what I heard Ruth say. Trust me, that memory is engrained in my mind.”

  Royce held his hand up in the air. “Um, wait, how did Tegan read that? Aether Witch thing?”

  Tegan made a funny face. “Yes and no. Elizabeth Bishop, whom I met in Salem, had a child with the angel Gabriel. Every blood-bred Bishop since then has been a descendant of Gabriel.”

  Em gasped and snapped her fingers excitedly. “That’s why we could pick up Michael’s sword! Because we have angel blood!”

  Tegan nodded. “Exactly. Ruth was the daughter of Michael, and the Proctors have come from Uriel since the One Hundred Years’ War with Lilith. That’s why they felt so sure this spell would work.”

  Jackson rubbed his jaw. “Except it didn’t, so maybe there’s something in the spell we’re missing?”

  “No, you don’t understand.” Tegan pulled her hair up on top of her head and tied it away. “This spell could never, ever, EVER have harmed anyone. It has angel power. This isn’t arcana magic. This is straight from Heaven. It’s literally impossible for this spell alone to have turned them into these shadows. It’s impossible. No, Royce, do not argue with me on this. Just trust me.”

  I snatched the book back, then looked down at it and started flipping pages to look for any kind of clue. Anything at all.

  Haven sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s right. This doesn’t make sense.”

  Jackson narrowed his aquamarine eyes. “We’re not actually suggesting Tegan is wrong. We know better. But something happened, so if it wasn’t the spell, then…”

  “Then…” Tegan bit her bottom lip.

  Henley closed her eyes. “Then it was tampered with. That’s what you’re trying not to say right now, right?”

  Tegan nodded. “I don’t like to throw out accusations I can’t back up. But yes.”

  My stomach turned and my mouth tasted like metal. It was nice to hear that maybe my parents weren’t monsters, but until we could prove it, then they were still guilty. I opened my mother’s little spell book to the middle, then shoved the stack of family photos still in my hand inside. As I was closing it, my gaze latched on to the word holy written several times.

  Deacon tapped his fingers on his chin. “Um, Tegan? Can you do that little trick you did by the river again?”

  Haven’s eyes widened.

  Uncle Tim frowned. “What trick?”

  Tegan grinned. “D, you are brilliant. Let’s go there and find out.”

  I shuddered as the images came rushing back. Stop that. Mom needs me to fix this. Focus! I looked back down at the book, and a spell I hadn’t seen a minute ago jumped out at me. Like it was begging for my attention.

  “Obviously I’m in support of this idea,” Kessler said in his deep voice. “but that means we have to go to The Gathering site. This is problematic.”

  Easton frowned. “Why?”

  Jackson sighed. “Because Joseph is going to be even crazier now. It’s not safe to separate.”

  Easton shivered. “Okay, why can’t we all go? Eden is evacuated of civilians.”

  Haven pointed to Ellis, Rebecca, and John.

  Ellis shook his head. “We’ll just come with you.”

  Haven frowned. “No, absolutely not. You all will stay here.”

  Royce fidgeted with a vine wrapped around his wrist. “Sorry, boss, but if they stay here, then some of us have to stay to guard them which means we have to separate.”

  Everyone jumped into a debate on how to best handle this. I heard the theories in the back of my mind. But my concentration was stuck on a few lines written in the middle of this book. It was a spell that would require a ton of magic, but we had a ton of it.

  I cleared my throat. “Actually…we might not need to.”

  Tegan gasped and leaned down in front of me. “I know that face. I love that face. TELL ME.”

  I held my mom’s book out for her to see. “My mom has a spell in here that will turn any piece of land into Holy Land. I think we should turn Eden into Holy Land.”

  Tegan nodded. “Then nothing dark or demonic could ever get in. Eden would be a truly safe place.”

  Rebecca smiled. “Joseph can’t get on Holy Land. He’s tried. Only Trey could, and I doubt he’d try at this point.”

  Ellis gave a crooked, evil smirk. “We can take Trey. He ain’t shit.”

  Warner cursed. “I almost hope he’ll try.” He cracked his knuckles.

  Everyone turned to Haven.

  Uncle Tim smiled. “Well, boss, what’s your verdict?”

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Jackson

  “Let’s make Eden Holy Land, for sure. It’s brilliant.” Tenn pointed toward the doors. “Everyone outside.”

  Easton and Willow cheered and led everyone out the front doors.

  Timothy wrapped his arm around Paulina’s shoulders. “I’m sorry to hear about your Mark.”

  She smiled up at him as they walked. “Thanks. It’s weird, but I’m just happy to be alive. You know?”

  He chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean, kiddo.” He glanced over at me as they passed by and gave me a wink.

  I turned toward Bettina and found her walking in between Tegan and Lennox. The three of them had their heads together with their noses buried in Ruth’s spell book as they headed for the door. Bettina glanced up and gave me a quick smile as they passed.

  A wave of intense power slammed into my side as Tennessee strolled up next to me and stopped. He sighed and shook his head, his eyes latched on the girls’ backs. “We’re gonna have to find some good hobbies, Lancaster.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  He grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “We’re gonna get ditched. A lot. Which means it is in our best interest to find some hobbies to entertain us…for the rest of our lives.”

  “Bloody hell, you’re right.” I laughed. “Guess it’s a good thing we like each other.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” He clapped my shoulder and nodded to the doors. “Let’s go watch them do some crazy shit.”

  I followed him outside and into the courtyard. It was only then as we approached the group that I realized all of the good shadows had gone out there, too. Not that I blamed them. I wanted to see this, too. Although, I couldn’t
quite wrap my head around this plan. It seemed like we shouldn’t be capable of creating Holy Land. Then again, Bettina was the granddaughter of archangel Michael, so I supposed it wasn’t too far-fetched. And I’d seen what she could do already, so even though it was hard to believe, I knew she’d do it.

  “All right, Hope, what do you need us to do?”

  Personally, I thought it was adorable that they were still calling each other by their real names even though no one else was going to. And every time he said her name, there was a special light in his eyes. I couldn’t imagine the relief he must be feeling.

  Bettina bit her lip. “I don’t know. I understand the spell and the writing in English beside it, but I can’t speak angelic.”

  Tenn nodded and turned to Tegan. “Babe? Care to do the honor?”

  “Thought you’d never ask, babe.” Tegan grinned and rubbed her palms together. “Okay, I need my angel lines. Tenn, Bettina, Lancaster, and my Bishops— Sorry, Mom, only blood.”

  Devon winked and backed away with everyone else.

  Oh wait, that’s me, too. I turned and jogged to the edge of the courtyard where everyone else had moved to. When I spun back around, Tegan had Ruth’s spell book in her hand— No, wait. The little leather-bound book was floating in the air in front of her. Tenn stood on her right, and Bettina was on her left. The other Bishops lined up with them to make a circle in the center of the courtyard.

  They threw their arms up with their palms facing the afternoon sky. Tegan closed her eyes and chanted in what I assumed was the angelic language. The sound was both strong and soft at the same time, like a symphony. The clouds above our heads parted, leaving only a blue sky that seemed to have a golden haze over it. The sun brightened. All the colors in the trees grew more vivid in hue, the grass suddenly greener.

  Tegan’s chanting grew stronger and sharper. Her palms sparkled. All at once, they dropped to their knees and pressed their hands to the ground like they were bowing. The world seemed to hum under my feet, vibrating into my legs. Tegan called out, and then the others repeated her. With each line, the ground began to glow until it was a bright yellow gold. It shimmered like liquid gold metal mixed with glitter. As far as I could see in every direction, everything was gold.

  Light flashed and it reflected off the golden ground like tiny spotlights. I flinched and shielded my eyes. Behind me, Easton cursed and Chutney hissed. I heard “oohs” and “ahhs,” which I understood since it was quite beautiful.

  Their chanting harmonized together until they sounded like a choir.

  And then there was a pop and a flash, and it was all gone.

  I blinked and pulled my arm away… Everything was back to normal-looking.

  “Wow. That was cool,” Warner whispered behind me.

  Tenn jumped to his feet and looked around. “Feels good.”

  “Is that it? Did we do it?” Cooper frowned and shuffled his feet around. “How do we know if it worked?”

  Bettina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smiled. “It worked.”

  Cooper narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, not exactly proof.”

  “Yeah, prove it. That sounds like fun.” Bentley chuckled.

  Tegan rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She dropped to one knee and slammed her palm to the ground. Rainbow mist billowed out from under her fingers and coiled around her arm. White and gold light flashed, and then her black hair turned snow white. She arched one now-white eyebrow at her brother, and it looked rather unsettling with her white and gold eyes. “Better?”

  Cooper shuddered and looked away. “Sure. Thanks. Make it stop.”

  Tenn frowned. “I agree. Make it stop.”

  Tegan chuckled and jumped back up. Her hair and eyes went right back to their normal color. She shrugged. “So, now that that’s settled…” She strolled over to where the rest of us stood.

  Hunter rubbed his palms together and walked up beside me. “Right. So what is our next step?”

  Kessler rubbed the back of his neck. “Son?”

  Tenn pointed to the two best friends. “Hope? Tegan? What now?”

  Bettina held her hand out, then Tegan set the book in her palm. “Right, well, let’s go find out what went wrong? Deacon’s idea?”

  “Perfect.” Tenn turned to the good shadows. “Until Trey is…neutralized…I’m going to ask you all to stay in the Great Hall while we’re gone.”

  “Can we not go with you? We want to fight Joseph, too.” Ellis cracked his knuckles. “We want to take him down.”

  Tenn shook his head. “I know you do. I can’t begin to thank you all for your help, and mostly for your faith in us. But you were innocents. You weren’t supposed to live this kind of life. This is our job. We are The Coven. I refuse to put a single one of you in danger one more time. You’ve done your fighting. Now let us handle this. Trust me, if Joseph didn’t hesitate to kill innocent civilians to get to us, then he won’t hesitate to kill each of you who betrayed him. I can’t let that happen. Stay here. Stay safe. I want to see all of you healed and healthy at the end of this.”

  Rebecca smiled and turned to the shadows. “He is right, and mostly, he is our Leader. C’mon, back inside now.”

  Each and every one of the shadows turned and followed Rebecca and John back inside.

  Except Ellis.

  “I want to fight,” Ellis said with a growl in his voice.

  Tenn sighed sadly. “Ellis, I cannot let you risk yourself when freedom is within our reach.”

  Bettina stepped up and put her hand on his shoulder. She looked up at him with her mismatched puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Ellis. Trust us?”

  “Besides, you’re the most in danger out of everyone.” Tegan shrugged.

  Ellis cursed and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Okay. All right. Sure, yeah. I’ll go inside. I understand. I just wanted to…I don’t know…”

  “I do,” I heard myself say. My stomach was still in knots. “Trust me, I do.”

  Ellis nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back inside now. Thanks.” With that, he turned and sprinted to catch up with the others inside.

  “Thank you, Ellis,” Bettina yelled after him. She sighed and pushed her long sleeves up her long arms.

  Timothy gasped like he’d been injured. We all jumped and reached for him.

  His eyes were wide. He grabbed Bettina’s right arm and held it out in front of him. “You have a soulmate?”

  Bettina blushed a deep pink. “Um, yes.”

  My heart fluttered and my palms grew sweaty. Wait a second. It’s on her fingers? I glanced down at my own hand and my eyes widened. It grew. I had no idea when, things had been pretty crazy, but I was almost certain I hadn’t had black lines stretching over my fingers this morning when I woke up. Bloody hell, it finished. I smiled and looked back up just as Timothy inspected her hand.

  Tim held her hand up closer to his face as he inspected all the black lines. “Who? Do I need to kick his ass?” he growled.

  I chuckled. “I think you’ve done enough of that these last ten years, but if it’s a rite of passage, I understand.”

  Tim’s jaw dropped. “Jackson?”

  I grinned and pulled my sleeve up then showed him my right arm.

  Cooper nudged Tenn. “See how civilized Lancaster is? Didn’t attack Tim.”

  Tenn rolled his eyes. “You attacked me first, brother.”

  Then Tegan held her hand up. “Wait. Hold up.” She grabbed our hands with the glyphs. “It finished. I didn’t see that! Oh my Goddess, we have to do the soulmate ceremony thingy right now!”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Bettina

  “Soulmate thingy?” My pulse skipped a few beats. There was something in the mischievous sparkle in her eyes that made my nerves go ape-shit. I swallowed roughly. “What soulmate…thingy?”

  Tegan rolled her eyes and smiled. “The soulmate thingy is a ritual that you do when the glyph is fully grown.”

  Fully grown? But ours isn’t. I looked down at my right hand, and my jaw dropped
. The vines had grown all the way out and covered my fingers. I’d been so caught up in Hope that I hadn’t noticed our soulmate glyph was fully grown. My heart fluttered. I spun and looked up at Jackson. He smiled down at me, and it took my breath away.

  Hunter cleared his throat and rubbed his palms together. “Okay, y’all know the drill. Circle around them.”

  I frowned and glanced around at all my Coven-mates circling us. “Wait, everyone watches this?”

  Jackson blinked. “Is that not weird?”

  Deacon shrugged. “Only if you make it weird.”

  “Please make it weird,” Royce said with a wild grin.

  “Royce.” Haven shook his head then turned away from him. He gestured toward us. “Uncle Timothy, why don’t you do the honors for them?”

  Tegan held her hand up, and a folded-up piece of white paper appeared between her fingers.

  “Oh. All right. Yes, I— Uh— I’d like that very much.” Uncle Timothy took the paper from Tegan, then walked up to me with a wide smile and flushed cheeks. He nodded then handed the paper to Jackson. “You’re going to read this in a minute. We’ll explain first.”

  I leaned forward as Jackson read the paper. “What is it?”

  “Bentley, cast the circle, please?” Uncle Timothy said then returned his attention to us. “Now, you two, press your right palms to each other’s chests, over the glyph origination crystal.”

  I lifted my hand up and hated the way it was shaking. There was no reason to be nervous. This was Jackson. My soulmate. And this was something that was going to bring us even closer together. Just breathe.

  I pressed my palm to the center of his chest, right over the lavender heart-shaped crystal. Despite the icy chill in the air, his skin was warm through his shirt. I wanted to snuggle up to his chest and inhale that Christmassy scent. If it weren’t for this glyph, I might not have even recognized my own hand. It was so tan now. The last time I saw it this tan I was a quarter of my size. But these black glyph lines were utterly familiar. Ever since they’d first shown up on my chest, I’d been staring at them nonstop.