“You should pick up Dean, too.” I smiled, remembering him at my house before. “We may need an extra set of magical hands to help, and I know he’d like to.”
Haven nodded. “Yeah, I like that idea. We’ll get them then meet you back at Headquarters.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Bettina
I’d never, ever, ever been a morning person, yet on the day I needed as much sleep as possible, I woke up with the sun. And my nerves had been going nuts since my eyes opened. Unfortunately, my anxiety woke Jackson up. But fortunately, I had company to watch the sunrise.
Half an hour later, I was dressed and ready.
For revenge.
Joseph stole my life from me, and I had every intention of repaying the favor.
“Hey, Tegan, is Bettina in here?” Jackson said from behind me.
I frowned and spun around to find my soulmate leaning against my open door. I was alone in my room—well, my joint room with Tegan. Wait. I had black hair now—again—and he saw me from behind.
I cocked my head to the side. “Did you think I was Tegan just now?”
Jackson chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. His navy sweater and dark jeans combo really made his ocean-colored eyes sparkle. “No, but you could see how I might, right?” He looked me up and down with a wild grin.
I glanced down at myself, and my cheeks warmed. He was right. It made sense. I was wearing all black and black combat boots—Tegan’s uniform. I met his gaze and tucked my hair behind my ears. “I just…I don’t know… I’m nervous? Guess I hoped maybe if I dressed like her today, I might magically absorb some of her courage.”
His face fell. He crossed the room then took my face between his hands. “You’re allowed to be nervous and scared. This is a big deal. This is dangerous. There are too many lives on the line. But you are incredible—”
“Jackson—”
“I mean it, love.” He smiled. “You are the granddaughter of an archangel. Of Michael, to be exact. You are more suited for this role than you realize. Heaven is in your veins. I have been impressed by you since your first day in Swords class. The second the action starts, you don’t hesitate, you act. And now you have more magic than you know. You’ll be amazing.”
Warmth spread through my body. “I love your faith in me.”
He grinned and shrugged. “I love you, Moonshine.”
I groaned and buried my face in his chest. “Stop. You’re gonna make me cry, and I have to be a badass today.”
He laughed so hard his whole body vibrated. He kissed my forehead, then stepped back from me. “I don’t know, crying while being a badass might be even more intimidating.”
“I think that only works if you’re Haven.”
He took my hand and dragged me out of my room, which was really just my closet at this point. “Your brother is the single most intimidating person in the entire bloody world, love. Crying or not.”
“You know what’s funny? When my memory was blocked and I met him as a stranger, I felt like that around him, too.” I grinned and shook my head as we headed down the stairs. “But the second my memory came back, that was gone.”
“Really?”
I glanced over my shoulder. Easton and Lily were behind us a few steps. “Yes, really.”
Easton scoffed. “I call BS. Brother or not, that dude is scary.”
A million memories of our childhood ran through my mind in a flash. I smiled. “If you only knew.”
And then I realized something. When Haven and I were kids, Haven was always smiling. Granted, we were only four and five when we were separated. Still, he was a happy kid. I was the sassy troublemaker. He was calm and steady, always kind to everyone. Even when he had the right to be angry or upset, he never was. I couldn’t picture a single memory of him frowning.
All of the frowning memories were of Tennessee. Not Haven.
Haven was happy. Tennessee was haunted.
Tortured.
Confused.
Hurting.
My chest tightened and my eyes burned. He really got the rotten deal of the two of us. The saying was true—ignorance was bliss. I had no idea, but he did. I thought back to that night at The Gathering, then when he showed up at my house in Charleston, and again when I met him last month… It seemed he was always glaring at someone. Scowling and radiating energy. It was no wonder everyone was so scared of him.
It made me want to hug him real hard.
Jackson squeezed my hand, and I let him comfort me, even if he wasn’t aware of what was actually bothering me.
Focus, Bettina. You have to be a badass today, remember? I took a deep breath and pushed my shoulders back.
When we got to the first floor, we rounded the corner and found Bentley and Emersyn sitting in the loveseat looking at a massive book in his lap. Cooper sat in the chair beside them, eating cereal and staring into space. Deacon strolled in from the kitchen carrying a bag of potato chips. He winked at us, then slid in beside Em.
The living room was a mess. There were books everywhere. Stacked on the floor and coffee table, some open with random objects holding pages down. It had Tegan’s name written all over it. I frowned and opened my mouth to ask where my best friend was when Deacon pointed to the couch in front of him. I walked into the room and around the side of the couch…and found her and my brother sound asleep, all cuddled up on the couch. Black hair everywhere.
His black sword and his dagger were lying on the floor beside them.
I sighed. “How long have they been sleeping here?”
“About three hours and fifty-nine minutes,” Uncle Timothy said as he strolled into the room with two steaming cups of coffee. He smiled at me. His watch lit up, and an alarm beeped. He set the cups down on the coffee table, then shut his alarm off. “Make that four hours.”
“Only four hours?” Lily groaned. “That’s not enough. They needed more.”
“Agreed, but we’re lucky we got that much in them. They’ve been buried in all this all night.” Uncle Tim shrugged. He bent down and pressed his palm to Haven’s shoulder. “Haven.”
He shot up instantly, his eyes sharp and searching for danger. His hair was wildly disheveled, like it always was. Mom was always brushing it. I smiled at the memory.
“Easy, killer. Just me,” Uncle Tim said with a chuckle.
“Thanks.” His voice was all scratchy-sounding. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Then he reached down and shook Tegan gently. “Babe.”
Tegan’s eyes flew open. She glanced up at everyone. “Damn it.”
Uncle Tim shook his head. “I tried to tell you. Here, there’s coffee on the table for you.” He pointed to the two steaming cups he’d just set down.
“Coffee coffee, or like…” Tegan narrowed her eyes on the cup. “Katherine coffee?”
“Katherine coffee.” Uncle Tim grinned. “She taught me how to make it back in Salem.”
Tegan sat up and practically dove for the cup. As she took a sip, her eyes widened. “Oh, I made a mess.”
Haven slid to the edge of the couch and reached for his cup. He glanced around the room. “All right. Let’s get everyone else down here and get to work.”
I frowned. “Don’t you want to go take a shower or something?”
He lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit. Then shrugged. “Nah, I smell fine.”
“Tegan?” I arched one eyebrow at her.
She glanced over at him, then back to me. Then she lifted her own arm and sniffed. “I’m good, too.”
“Bloody hell,” Jackson said with a chuckle. “These two.”
Deacon jumped up and went over to the base of the stairs…and whistled.
I cringed and covered my ears. “Damn, mandrake. Easy.”
Tegan spit her coffee then covered her mouth. She laughed. “MANDRAKE. Shit.”
Emersyn threw her head back and laughed.
Jackson chuckled. “You and your pop culture references.”
“You mean like, ‘What the hell
kind of Middle Earth bullshit is this’?” Cooper said between laughs. “That was my personal favorite.”
As they all laughed and joked about all the ridiculous things I’d said over the months, I walked over and sat next to Tegan on the couch. Haven was on the other side of her, chugging his coffee. Footsteps thundered above us, and then the rest of our Coven came rushing down the steps. Next thing I knew, we were all gathered in the living room.
“Morning!” Deacon yelled and waved with a cheeky grin.
Henley strolled forward, looking at all the books. “Did you figure the spell out?”
Tegan nodded. “Yup. Might wanna have a sit for this one, y’all.”
Everyone groaned and basically just dropped down wherever they were standing, like they didn’t even care anymore. Except for Jackson, who came over and sat on the armrest of the couch beside me.
I cleared my throat. “Okay. Tell us straight. What we got?”
Haven frowned. “Tegan is going to explain the spell. Once she’s done, we’re going over to the Great Hall to perform it on our friendly shadows.”
Just like that, all the laughing and joking was gone. The room was tense and silent.
Tegan licked her lips and gripped the crystal hanging around her neck. The Book of Shadows appeared a second later, then she flipped it open—but the page was blank. “Okay, brace yourselves.” Then she pressed her palm to the page.
Black lines appeared instantly. They swirled and formed a shape I’d never seen before. A cold chill slithered down my spine. The air in the room grew heavy. Everyone cringed and leaned away from it. I shivered and slammed the book closed.
“What the hell was that?” Easton breathed. “No wait, I don’t wanna know.”
Henley closed her eyes and shuddered. “Please, no.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and trembled.
Royce scowled and pulled her into his chest, holding her tight as she shook.
Lennox’s eyes were wide as she stared at the now closed book. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
Tegan sighed. “It is.”
Lennox cursed and sank to her knees. “Oh, shit.”
“And you’re one hundred percent sure that is necessary?” Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose.
Tegan nodded.
Haven nodded.
My stomach turned. I didn’t know what they clearly did, but I didn’t like it. That symbol was a rune but not one I’d ever seen before. I didn’t like the way it made me feel just looking at it. Everyone else seemed as confused and concerned as I was.
“Can someone explain what the hell that was?” Emersyn whispered.
Tegan hung her head and pressed her palm to the back of the book. “In order to reverse the combination of Ruth’s spell and Joseph’s, we have to use both—”
“Meaning what?” Emersyn said between clenched teeth, even though I suspected she knew.
I did. I just didn’t want her to say it out loud and confirm it.
“Dark magic,” Jackson breathed. He shook his head. “It means we have to use light and dark magic to reverse this.”
“I’ve never seen that rune before,” Constance said softly.
“I have,” Haven, Henley, and Uncle Timothy said at the same time.
Hunter’s face paled. “What is it?”
Everyone looked to Tegan.
“Lilith.”
Silence.
Tegan nodded. “I know. Trust me, I know. But we all heard Trey. He and Joseph have been getting help from the Lady of Hell herself. I got the spell from Deacon last night and I researched it. I did what I do best and figured out our answer…and this rune is part of it.”
“That’s a demonic rune. That’s what you’re telling us?” Willow eyed the book like it was going to bite her.
“Yes. Now, I drew it in the Book of Shadows with a million spells for protection. It cannot do anything in the form that it’s in now.” She pulled the book into her lap and opened it up, but didn’t show the rune. “In order to reverse this mess, someone has to draw this rune into the ground in their own blood while reciting a very specific spell written in the angelic language.”
“WHAT?”
“BLOOD?!”
“NO WAY!”
Haven stood and everyone’s shouting cut off immediately. He looked around at everyone with a grim expression. “This is not the answer we wanted, I know. But it is the answer. Freak out now. That’s cool, but I’m gonna need your game faces on when we get to the Great Hall.”
Braison cleared his throat and raised his hand. “Um, so, who is going to be doing this? Because before Tegan told us only people with an angelic bloodline can even speak the words.”
Shit.
Everyone looked to me.
Oh, great. Said that out loud. My stomach tightened into knots, and anxiety rolled through me. “I think we all know who this comes down to. This is on Haven and me. It was our parents who started this. It’s gonna be on us to finish it.”
Uncle Tim closed his eyes and hung his head. He knew I was right, too. Jackson put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. Everyone else glanced back and forth between me and Haven. My pulse skipped around like a pinball machine.
Lilith’s rune. Lilith. The mother of demons.
“She’s—” Haven stopped and turned toward the front door with a frown. He narrowed his eyes, and it flew open.
Ellis stood on the other side with his fist raised in the air like he was about to knock. His eyes widened. “Whoa. Uh, hello.”
“Come in,” Haven barked.
Ellis walked inside with his brows furrowed. He scratched his scruffy jaw and glanced around. He was still too skinny, too malnourished, but he looked better than before. The bones in his wide shoulders didn’t stick out quite so harsh. His long hair held a tiny bit more vibrancy to it. There was hope for him still. We hadn’t even done the reversal spell, and he was already healing. Once we took this curse off of him, he’d be able to actually get better.
All it means is using Lilith’s rune. In blood.
“Hello,” Ellis said with his rough voice.
Haven gave him a small smile. “You okay?”
He nodded, then frowned. “I know this is not my place to demand, but I am going to ask it anyway… I want you to try the reversal spell on me first. Here. That way if it doesn’t work, none of them will be disheartened. They need their hope.”
Everyone turned to Haven.
He nodded. “That’s fair. I’m okay with that. Tegan, get that rune out.”
Ellis’s eyes widened. “Now? You’re ready already?”
Tegan stood and walked to the center of the living room. She flicked her wrist, and everything and everyone slid back a few feet until the hardwood floor was open and clear. “Ellis, stand in front of me. Everyone else behind me.”
“Wait, wait, wait— You’re doing this?” Emersyn asked, her face pale.
“No,” Henley said quickly. “The Aether Witch is our only real weapon against Lilith. She needs to be…ready. Just in case.”
Tegan turned and her gaze went right to me.
My pulse skyrocketed. Nausea rolled up my throat. I knew this. I’d just said it myself. But now it was time to actually do it, and fear was grabbing hold. I stood but my legs were shaking. How can this be on ME? I’m new here. I’ve only had my magic for a couple weeks. Not even that. I only just learned who I really am. How can THIS be on me? I’m not trained enough. This is a big deal. Huge. Ellis’s life is at stake here. Shouldn’t someone more experienced do this?
I hated how scared I felt. How weak and insecure. This was how I felt when I first moved to Eden, but I’d come so far from there. I didn’t want to be this nervous, timid person anymore. I wanted to be brave and strong. The kind of person who looked danger in the eye and said come at me, bro.
But as I looked at Ellis, my courage vanished. I licked my lips. “Haven?”
He turned to me, and I saw in his eyes that he knew what I was going to ask
.
“Will you do it?” I shook my head. “You’re so much stronger than I am. You’re the Emperor. I don’t want this spell to fail because I’m so new at this.”
He stared at me for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”
Tegan flipped the book open and pressed her palm to the page. Words and that awful rune appeared. “Tenn, stand here. You already know what to do.”
He held his left hand out, and his dagger flew into his palm. In a quick, swift motion, he sliced the tip of his right middle finger. Blood rushed to the surface.
I jumped up then froze. There was nothing for me to do. I’d passed the job on to him. I had to let him do it. Tegan held the book out in front of him. Ellis stood there with his arms behind his back. He looked calm, but I felt the fear rolling off of him.
Haven dropped to one knee and drew Lilith’s demonic rune into the hardwood floor in his own blood. The spell rolled off of his tongue like a champion choir singing. I didn’t know what the words meant, but their tone was full of light and air and peace. Shimmering green magic shot out of Haven and slammed into Ellis.
He gasped and his back arched. Light flashed. His skin glistened with the glow of life. His eyes sparkled brighter and his hair smoothed out. He stumbled back a few steps before he caught himself on the chair. He looked up to us with a smile—then doubled over, gripping his stomach. When we started for him, he waved us off. For a few seconds, he leaned against the chair breathing…then he stood up straight and turned to us.
“Ellis?” Haven frowned. “You okay?”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Bettina
Ellis’s eyes watered. He nodded and held his hands up. He patted his body and spun around in circles. “You did it. I can’t go back to a shadow. I just tried. You did it!”
“Wait, that’s it?” Easton yelled. “That was easy!”
Haven grinned and rushed to Ellis’s side. They shook hands, then embraced in a hug.
Tegan smiled and turned to the rest of us. “Ellis already had some healing done to him, so this was easier for him. I fear the others won’t be as lucky.”
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 133