Trey laughed and clapped his hands.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Warner
“NO!” we all screamed.
“TEGAN, NO!” Hunter yelled and dove for his daughter as she charged the dome wall. He tackled her to the ground, but she was fighting him. Gold magic shot out of him and filled the entire dome. “TEGAN, STOP!”
Tegan vanished into thin air then reappeared a foot away. She threw her hands out, and they passed through the dome. Her soulmate glyph on the back of her hand was bright red and pulsing. Rainbow magic exploded from her palms, and some of the black smoke was pushed away. She was about to jump all the way out when Kessler slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“You go out there and you go down with them!” Devon shouted as she created a wall made out of her astral clones around the inside of the dome. “We need a plan!”
“Go ahead, burn me, but you’re not going out there!” Paulina shouted behind me.
I spun around and found her and Chutney pinning Emersyn facedown in the grass. She was wiggling and writhing. Flames danced along her body. Cooper cursed and dove on top of her.
Royce cried out and charged for the edge of the dome. SHIT! I lunged and snagged him by the knees. We crashed to the ground. I cursed and winced, but held on tight.
“I got him!” Easton yelled, and then suddenly there was shimmering silver body armor pinning Royce to the dirt.
Bright light filled the dome. I looked up expecting it to be Tegan but instead found Lily up by the edge blasting the clearing with pure sunshine.
“What do we do?” Braison cried out and tugged on his hair. “We have to help them!”
Trey threw his head back and laughed then waved his hands in the air, and the black smoke shot up to Bettina’s neck. She gasped and her spine straightened. Tenn’s wings were out, but somehow he couldn’t move. What the hell is stronger than Tennessee?!
Bettina’s knees hit the ground. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Trey laughed and clapped his hands.
You son of a bitch.
Trey strolled through the middle of the pentagram with that stupid, sickening grin on his face. He paused in front of Lennox and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. My stomach turned, and before I could stop myself, I leapt to my feet…and Royce jumped up. I cursed. I’d been holding him down. I tried to catch him, but it was too late. He sprinted to the dome wall and threw himself at it, but he bounced off of it and flew over our heads to the back.
Tegan screamed and the ground rumbled. I threw my hands up to cover my ears.
“Shit, EMERSYN!”
Everything was happening so fast I didn’t have time to react.
Emersyn slammed into the dome wall then crumbled to the ground. She shrieked and pounded her fists on the wall. “DEACON!”
Trey skipped forward. He freaking skipped. My blood boiled in my veins. I didn’t understand who this person was. How my friend of a decade could do this. None of it made sense. He was practically freaking singing as he danced like Fred freaking Astaire over to where Bettina was on her knees trembling.
Tegan’s screaming grew louder and sharper. It was vibrating my bones. Kessler was on his knees in front of her, using his massive body as a wall to keep her inside. He had his arms wrapped around her waist. His muscles were flexed, and sweat dripped down the side of his face, like he was struggling against her.
I looked over to Tennessee, and my heart sank. He wasn’t moving, even though he was pushing against it.
My stomach rolled. “What the hell is happening?!”
Red light poured out of Tegan’s hand. Tenn was in trouble. We all were.
Tegan sucked in a ragged breath, and her rainbow magic coiled around her hands. Then she growled like a tiger and thrust her arms forward. Thick beams of rainbow magic shot out of her palms—one aimed at Tennessee and the other at Bettina. As her magic moved through the dome, it vanished.
It must’ve still been working because a second later, Tennessee moved several feet forward. But Trey shook his head, and more black smoke wrapped around our Emperor, locking him in place.
I cursed. “Just keep going, Tegan! You’re stronger than this punk.”
Bettina groaned. Her entire body was shaking, and I knew she was trying to fight him off.
Trey freaking chuckled and turned to face Bettina. He stood in front of her, towering over her. He reached out and tipped her chin up so her eyes met his. Then he grinned. “Lilith sends her regards.”
“LILITH?!” everyone screamed.
At that, all caution was thrown to the wind, and we all charged the edge of the dome. Everyone was yelling and shouting. We slammed our fists and bodies against the dome, but we were trapped. Stuck. Completely helpless.
“Tegan, MORE!” Bentley whisper-shouted.
I looked back at her, and my heart jumped up my throat. Her pale green eyes were radiating light like a laser show. Her entire body was glowing. She was downright pulsing with energy. Her lips were pulled back in a nasty snarl. She screamed and magic rushed out of her so strong it threw half of us back.
Trey chuckled and strolled in front of the dome, looking at us like he’d already won. He shook his head. He pointed to Tenn. “Don’t worry. With him gone, the rest of you will be much easier to take out. It won’t be like this for you.”
Bettina’s eyes went so wide I saw the white surrounding her mismatched irises. She looked to Tegan, and I saw the fear pouring out of her.
Trey whistled a cheery tune and turned toward Tennessee.
“Give Tegan your power!” Bentley shouted and pressed his palms to her back. “NOW!”
We all dove for her instantly, without a beat of hesitation. In the blink of an eye, we all had our hands on her, pushing our own power into her. I still didn’t understand how this worked—this wasn’t my strength as a witch—but I wasn’t about to question it. I would do whatever I had to to save my friends.
Tegan’s body levitated off the ground, but with all of us holding her down, she only lifted an inch or so. The power coming off of her felt like I was holding on to a tornado. She threw an insane amount of magic at Bettina, relentlessly slamming her with energy.
Bettina gritted her teeth. Her arm shook like she was trying to move it.
And then her hand popped out from the black smoke.
YES!
Trey pulled a glowing orb out of his pocket and giggled. He tossed it up into the air then caught it. “Grandson of an archangel. Michael’s finest. Lilith was so excited. She gave me this trick.” He gestured around the clearing. “Isn’t it neat?”
Tennessee growled and his wings fluttered.
“But you know what’s cooler?” He skipped closer to Tenn, still tossing that orb into the air like it was a baseball. He nodded his head toward Bettina. “Lilith also gave me a special spell just to kill you two. It’ll only take about a minute or so, and it’ll be ridiculously painful. No big deal."
Behind him, Bettina threw her hand out beside her. The air pulsed through the dark magic like a wave in the ocean. She kept her eyes on Trey and lifted her hand higher. Her fingers flexed, and the black smoke moved. I bit my lip and glanced back and forth between her and Tenn. What is she doing? What is her plan?
The air pulsed…and then Tennessee’s long black sword flew through the clearing and landed right in Bettina’s open palm.
“OHHHHHH!” Everyone in the dome went absolutely freaking nuts.
We all jumped to our feet and threw our hands up.
Bettina lunged to her feet and charged for Trey.
But Trey hadn’t noticed any of this. He was too busy mocking Tennessee and playing with his prey to see Bettina gunning for him with a weapon.
“Well, can’t keep Lilith waiting too long.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out another orb. This one was smaller and blood red. “Buh-bye, angel babies.”
Tegan screamed, except this time she said something in that a
ngelic language, and her hair turned snow white.
Then Trey slammed the blood-red orb on the ground. Red smoke slithered toward Tenn and Bettina. Trey laughed and dropped the glowing orb to the ground. Light flashed and fizzled, yet nothing happened. Lilith’s magic slammed into a rainbow-colored wall, and golden light swallowed it up.
Trey frowned. He looked back and forth between Tenn and the remnants of the glowing orb at his feet that looked like a shattered Christmas ornament. “What the hell?”
Bettina jumped up and swung Tenn’s black sword into the air…then slammed it right through Trey’s spine.
He gasped and his eyes widened as the black blade sliced through his heart and out his chest. Blood gushed from his chest and was already pooling behind him as he sank to his knees. That black smoke vanished all at once. Deacon, Lennox, Henley, Jackson, and Timothy jumped to their feet and sprinted toward us.
“YES! HOPE! I KNEW IT!” Tennessee cheered. “HELL YEAH!”
“HOLY SHIT, DID YOU SEE THAT?!” Easton yelled.
Bettina smiled and yanked Tenn’s black sword out of Trey’s body. She looked to the dome and held her free hand up…and her sword popped out of the ground and flew into her palm. Her dome disappeared, and we all charged for them.
Everyone was freaking out and losing their minds over what Bettina had just done.
Bettina spun and ran for Jackson. He caught her in the air like they were Patrick Swayze and Baby.
“He’s dead, right?” Willow shouted.
Bright orange flames shot up. When I turned toward them, I found Emersyn standing over Trey’s body…and then she dropped the fire onto his lifeless form. “Oh, he’s dead.”
Holy shit, Trey is dead. I didn’t know how to feel about it. He was one of my best friends for a decade, and now he was gone. Part of me was devastated still, but I was also overwhelmingly relieved. It was conflicting and confusing. I looked up to Jackson to see if he felt the same, but he and Bettina were too occupied inspecting each other for injuries. That made me smile.
“Is everyone all right?” I looked to the others who’d been doing the dark magic spell. “You hurt? Timothy? Deacon? Lennox or Henley? Anyone?”
They all shook their heads and assured us they were fine.
“DID YOU SEE WHAT SHE DID?!” Easton cheered, his eyes sparkling. “That was BOSS!”
“HOPE,” Tennessee called out to her. He let go of Tegan, then skipped closer to Bettina with happiness just oozing out of him. “YES.”
Tegan smiled and leaned against her father. Her hair was already turning black again.
“Did you know you could do that?” Henley said, shaking her head and smiling.
Bettina ran over to Tenn and hugged him. When he set her down, she laughed. “No, but he can, so I figured I could, too.”
“Glad to see you two haven’t changed.” Timothy grinned and wrapped both of them in a big bear hug. “Bettina, that was incredible. I’m so proud of you.”
She blushed. “Call me Hope, please.”
“Hope.” He pulled her in for another hug, still laughing and shaking his head. He looked to Tenn. “She always insisted on doing whatever you did.”
Tenn grinned and shrugged. “And I told y’all just to let her try, didn’t I?”
Tim threw his head back and laughed. “Shit. Yes. Yes, you did.”
Chutney cleared her throat and raised her hand in the air. “Um, not to rain on our parade, but I feel like sitting ducks out here right now. Can we retry the spell so we can leave?”
Deacon grinned from over Emersyn’s head. “Nah, girl. I finished that.”
Royce gasped. He glanced back and forth between Henley and Deacon. “You did?”
Lennox chuckled. “Barely, but yeah.”
Deacon scoffed. “Finished is finished, ‘kay?” He winked at her.
I sighed and leaned down with my hands on my knees. “Man, my emotions went through the ringer today. Damn.”
Tennessee cupped Tegan’s face and looked her over. “You feeling okay?”
She smiled up at him, but it looked a little loopy. She snapped her fingers, and her white portal box opened up. “Good enough to get us home.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Bettina
We stepped through the portal and into the courtyard of Edenburg. I sighed in relief and tried to shake off the lingering tension. We still had quite a job to do, but at least for now we were safe. Thanks to my mom, Eden was now untouchable. I didn’t have words to explain how good that felt.
I took a deep breath and looked around—and frowned.
The sun was setting, but something was very much off. It was usually a combination of reds, pinks, and purples, yet right now, it was gray and black.
Deacon whistled softly and shook his head. “That didn’t take long.”
Royce frowned. “What didn’t?”
“That.” Deacon pointed to the sky. “That’s Joseph.”
I gasped. Duh! “He’s trying to hit us with dark magic.”
Easton grinned. “Well, you did just kill his son.”
“He deserved it,” Emersyn said with a snarl.
“Come on, let’s share the good news,” Haven said as he started for the Great Hall.
Everyone hurried after him, but I hung back.
Jackson stopped in front of me. “You okay?”
“I wanted to ask you the same.”
He looked down at his body. “Yeah, I’m fine. No marks or anything.”
I smiled. “That’s good, but…um…not what I meant.”
“Oh?” He frowned then his face fell. “Oh.”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Your friend just died. How are you feeling?”
He sighed long and hard. “My friend died the day he tried to kill Tegan. I mourned him then. Now…I’m…numb.”
“But you were pretty upset outside my house—”
“Because he attacked you.” He tipped my chin up, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I refuse to lose you. Anyone who tries to challenge that will suffer.”
I grinned. “I love you.”
He pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss that ended far, far too soon. “I love you, too.”
“But you’re okay? It’s all right if you’re not.”
He tucked my hair behind my ears. “None of this is easy. And honestly, I’m not sure if I would have been able to do the deed. To remove him from the situation. So, I’m grateful you were able to do that for me.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
His lips curved up in a wide smile that dimpled his cheeks. “And I for you.” He pulled me into his chest then wrapped his arms around me tight.
I sighed and snuggled in closer, reveling in the warmth radiating off his body and that glorious Christmassy scent. We stood there like that for several minutes, holding on to each other. We didn’t speak or kiss. I just needed to hold him.
When we finally separated and joined our Coven-mates inside the Great Hall, we found all of the good shadows gathered around listening to Tegan and Haven speak.
“…we have the reversal spell, but it’s very dark magic.” Tegan held her hands up to ward off questions. “I need to review it to make sure what we’re dealing with. I want to be as careful with your lives as possible. But we’ll be back to start trying it.”
Haven nodded. “Any questions?”
One of the good shadows in the front raised his hand. “So…Trey is really dead? For real?”
“Yes. Trey is dead.”
Hands shot up around the room—shadowy hands.
Haven placed his hand on the small of Tegan’s back. “Tegan will answer your questions. I’ll be right back.” Then he turned and gestured for us to follow him outside.
When we got out there, Easton cracked his knuckles. “What’s the game plan, boss?”
“Go back and rest. Eat. Sleep. Take a hot shower.”
“Wait, what?” Warner asked with a frown. “Don’t we need to go kick Joseph’s ass?”
Uncle Timothy frowned. He pointed toward the Great Hall. “Okay, but that means you two actually need to rest.”
“We will, I promise.”
Constance smiled and turned to the rest of us. “All right, you heard him. To headquarters we go.”
A loud growl ripped through the courtyard, and we all jumped.
“Oops.” Chutney blushed bright red and gripped her stomach. “I’m starving.”
There was an echo of, “Me too.”
“OH!” Lennox snapped her fingers. “I have a witch friend in N’orleans who owns a restaurant and can magically deliver—”
“YES,” Easton practically yelled. “Just yes. Do that.”
Lennox giggled and led the way back to headquarters while she read off menu items.
When it was just a couple of us left, Kessler squeezed Haven’s shoulder. “Son, you better be following behind us soon. I will come carry your ass back.”
He grinned. “As tempting as that is, I’ll be right behind you.”
Tegan appeared right next to him. “Hi.”
“Oh, hi.” Haven frowned and pointed toward the Great Hall. “Did they have any more questions for me?”
She shook her head. “Well, yeah, probably. But I assured them that we’re going to work on the spell to heal them, so they are pretty content with that. Although, Mona was rather insistent on Kessler getting his happy ass back inside.”
Kessler cursed and sprinted inside.
Tegan chuckled. “Everyone else go home?”
“Yeah,” Uncle Timothy said with his deep, gruff voice. “Now time for the rest of us.”
“Yes, you three get going—”
“Three?” Uncle Timothy shook his head. “You two need to—”
“Portal to pick up Katherine so she’s here when we do this spell? Yeah, I thought so, too. Good idea.” She winked at him. “I promise, we’ll be there very soon.”
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 132