Chapter 35
The coordinates Gazannol gave me lead to a thick patch of forest off the side of a deserted two-lane road.
Spindly, tightly packed trees stretch up to the night sky.
All my senses are screaming at me to turn back, but I’ve already come this far.
If I leave now, Orion and Joelle are as good as dead.
The coven is on the brink of war unless Aria can convince them to listen to her.
Help isn’t coming. Scratch that. I’m the help.
“Here goes nothing.”
I trudge into the forest with no clue what direction to walk in. A few feet in, I spot a red sedan parked in the brush that looks exactly like the one that tried to run me over. I’m definitely on the right track.
Moonlight barely penetrates the canopy of branches, but I don’t dare turn on my phone’s flashlight for fear of being spotted. So, I keep my gaze trained down at my feet, walking carefully to avoid tripping on any rocks or branches. I don’t want them to hear me coming.
After what seems like an eternity, hushed whispers float over from somewhere on my left.
I change direction, picking up the pace.
Swiftly, I come to a small clearing. A giant weight is immediately lifted from my chest as I rush over to Orion and Joelle.
They’re sitting on the ground before two trees with their arms bound behind them.
Joelle’s face lights up as soon as she spots me, but Orion’s eyes dart around the clearing. “Are you alone?” he whispers as I kneel before them, digging in my bag for Sabine’s dagger.
I nod. “Gramps is…busy. Malik will give him the location once he and Aria get to him. Are y’all all right?”
“Shaken but physically okay,” Orion answers. I saw through his ropes with the blade first.
Joelle cranes her neck to peer at me. “Your brother caught me up to speed,” she says. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re a witch?”
My heart drops. Joelle discovering my secret should be the least of my worries, but it still comes as a shock that the knowledge I’ve worked so hard to keep from her is out in the open now.
The rope binding Orion’s arms together snaps. I move on to Joelle’s bindings as Orion rubs at his raw wrists.
“I couldn’t say anything,” I murmur. “It’s one of our most important rules.” I glare at my brother. “He shouldn’t have said anything, either.”
Orion’s jaw clenches. “I was out cold when they brought us here. When I came to, I tried cutting through the rope with fire, but I couldn’t quite get the angle right.
Obviously, I had to explain why my hands were glowing red.
” At my scowl, he throws his hands up. “It seemed like the best approach at the time. I thought we were going to die out here! Keeping secrets from her didn’t seem like the most important option. ”
“Don’t be angry with him,” Joelle says. “Your secret’s safe with me. I hope you know that I’d never tell anyone.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re telling me that you’re not going to run to your professors and tell them all about the real-life witch you met?”
“Mikaela.” Her eyes burn with an urgency that I haven’t seen before. “I care too much about you to ever do that.”
Orion’s elbows crack as he stands and stretches his arms. “Let’s do this whole catching-up thing once we’re safe and sound,” he says. “They’ll be back any minute, and last I saw, they were mad as hell.”
Joelle’s rope snaps and I get to my feet, resheathing the knife. “It’s Mike Dupree, isn’t it? Who else is with him?”
Orion tilts his head. “No, sis, it’s—”
A branch snaps at the opposite end of the clearing, drawing our attention to two masked figures dressed in all black. As we whirl around, Orion reaches behind me to snatch the dagger from my grasp, slipping it into his back pocket before they can see.
Their faces are covered by white plastic masks, but the blond hair gives them away almost immediately.
Mike Dupree isn’t the one who summoned the demon. His daughter is.
“You might as well take those dollar-store masks off,” I shout. “We already know who you are. There’s no use hiding.”
Britney and Christine remove their masks in unison, sneering at us with identical expressions of pure disgust. I’m immediately taken aback by how haggard they both look.
Britney’s foundation flakes off her neck in thick chunks as black streaks pulsate beneath every inch of visible skin.
Her eyes are sunken, and her face has a sickly jaundiced pallor.
Christine looks a bit better, but she still has raccoon eyes and pale skin.
The breeze shifts, tickling my nostrils with the scent of sulfur.
As I take a step toward them, Joelle reaches out to grab my arm, but I shake her off. I refuse to show these girls any fear. They may believe themselves to be powerful, but it’s all a facade. I was born with magic; they’re petty thieves.
“Why?” I demand.
Britney’s eyes darken. “You know why.”
And I suppose I do. Girls like Britney have been given everything their entire lives, and I embarrassed her in front of everyone when I earned the top spot as valedictorian. But that isn’t it. Gramps had the audacity to threaten her dad’s quest for power.
Hatred can do powerful things. It can destroy lives if you let it, but I refuse to allow it to ruin mine.
“Was it all worth it?” I shout. “Killing those innocent people?”
Christine answers for her. “They were a means to an end.” She clenches her fist. Green sparks fly from her fingertips. “They gave us what we needed.”
“I’ll be satisfied once I watch you thrash around and die,” Britney says, her voice dripping with utter disdain. “Your magic won’t be able to save you.”
Venom laces the word magic, as if it’s a filthy word. As if she hasn’t killed people to feel it flow through her own veins. From the look of it, the power isn’t as compatible with her body as she would like.
Anger flows white-hot through my veins. “You need to move on. You’re the one who cared so much about the stupid title. It’s in the past.”
“But it isn’t,” Britney sneers through gritted teeth.
“And it’s not just about that. Look at your family living in that big fancy house.
How much magic did it take to steal? To convince your neighbors that you belong?
You’re uppity, pretending like you’re better than us when you’re nothing but dirt. ”
Orion stiffens at my side, but a part of me is relieved that she’s gone full mask-off. There are no more pretty smiles to hide her ugly thoughts.
“My great-grandparents worked hard to buy that house, and my grandparents worked even harder to keep it. So, what you’re not going to do is pretend like we don’t deserve to have nice things.”
Britney shakes her head. “You always scored better than me on every test. No matter how hard I studied. I couldn’t figure out how you were doing it until the day I saw you beneath the bleachers. You were holding a ball of light suspended in your hands, and that’s when I knew what you were.”
“And so you decided that you wanted power of your own.”
“It wasn’t right,” she spits, shaking her head.
“You don’t deserve it. Look at you. All you’re doing with your life is working in that dead-end shop.
You stole everything from me, and then you wasted it.
” Her eyes flash. “But I’m going to take what you owe me, and I’m going to make sure that my dad wins this election.
Your entire family needs to be knocked back down to the bottom, where you should be. ”
I lunge forward, but Joelle and Orion both hold me back. “You’re not owed anything just because you’re white, blond, and pretty.” I pat my chest. “I earned my place. It’s not my fault you’re mediocre, Britney. News flash: Magic isn’t the answer to everything.”
She lets out a harsh laugh. “Shut up. You cheated your way to the top, and I won’t let your grandfather do the same thing.” She clenches her fists. “This election is too important. My dad has a real opportunity to change this city for the better.”
“Better for who? We both know that your dad doesn’t give a shit about anyone who isn’t white, straight, and Christian. So, save your bullshit for someone else.”
She sneers at me as green tendrils of light appear at her fingertips. “I’m getting sick of this.” With that Britney staggers forward, flinging a bolt of energy toward me. Orion slams into me, knocking us both to the ground.
“See?” Christine says. “You’re not so special now.”
“You’re nothing,” Britney growls, stalking toward us.
Their words make me sick to my stomach. I’m not naive. I’m well aware there’s a segment of white people who truly believe they’re better than us solely because of the color of their skin.
I scramble to my feet as Orion’s hands glow bright red. The girls are forced to jump back as the grass beneath their feet erupts in flames.
“The magic will never fit right beneath your skin!” I yell. “Your body will fight it off like a virus and you’ll die before you ever become a real witch. You’re nothing more than an impostor.”
Christine’s face reddens, but a serene expression crosses Britney’s.
“Don’t worry about us. Just wait until Gazannol gets its hands on you.
” Thunder claps at the mention of the demon’s name.
“It’ll let you watch as we kill your family and your pretty little girlfriend before it shreds your soul to pieces. ”
Orion steps forward. “If it’s Mikaela you wanted this whole time, why kill the others? Why not take her out to begin with?”
Christine shrugs. “We needed the magic their bodies provided. It strengthened our power and solidified the demon’s grip on reality.”
I think of the long list of people they’ve killed. Orion must think of them too because his voice cracks as he says, “They were innocent people.”
“Nobody’s innocent in war,” Britney says. “Besides, it’s been worth it to see the pain their deaths caused you.”
Christine shifts her gaze to Joelle, who’s been crouched on the ground near the tree. “You’d better say goodbye to your girlfriend now,” Christine says. “Once Gazannol has bound its soul to yours, it’ll be unstoppable.”
“And we’ll share in his power forever,” Britney continues.
Everything neatly slots into place. Gazannol is using the girls to get to me.
It knows that I’m the descendant of La Reine Sorcière.
My power exceeds that of any random mortal or even most of the members of my coven.
It’ll draw on my strength to feed its own, and then it’ll burn the world to ashes.
These stupid girls don’t know how badly they’ve fucked up.
Money, power, and prestige are what they’re after.
They think magic will provide that. But with Gazannol walking the earth, there will be no society for them to conquer and no election for Britney’s dad to win.
Everything they know and love will go up in smoke. Humanity will cower at Gazannol’s feet.
“You don’t know what you’ve done,” I say. “This isn’t going to play out the way you want it to.”
Britney beams. “That’s what you think.”
An iron vise wraps around my wrist as someone grabs me from behind.