31. Cori
Cori
T hey sat beside a small campfire as Prudence and Alfie huddled over the dry heat, attempting to warm up from the sudden assault of the storm. Adrian had dried Cori off with magic but did not afford the same courtesy to her kidnappers.
They sat on a makeshift bench of worn, splintered driftwood planks. The rest of the Gray witches that had been camped in the shack had emerged now, and they stood in a huddle behind Prudence and Alfie, exchanging looks of curiosity, as though they were watching the events of a daytime talk show unfold in real time.
Adrian and Seth flanked her like bookends on the bench, glaring at the other witches around the fire as they explained their intentions. The heat of anger and suspicion pulsed from their auras, but it was countered by the cold desperation and pleading coming from Prudence.
“So, let me get this straight,” Seth said after patiently listening to their story. “You claim that you’ve been protecting her all these years. You also claim that you want to continue to protect her, because apparently, she’s famous and made a prophecy that will change the world.”
Cori sighed, letting her head fall in her hands. At this rate, there wouldn’t be a witch in all New England who didn’t know the truth. Her location would be common knowledge within a few days.
Seth continued, “And you revealed this to her by kidnapping her and bringing her to a remote, deserted island?”
“Well, we didn’t expect that two maniacs would set siege to the island and try to drown us to death,” Alfie drawled.
Out of the corner of her eye, Cori saw Adrian’s knuckles grow white.
“We knew Cori wouldn’t trust us. She was raised to fear Gray witches, and she had also been conditioned to be secretive. We wanted to be able to properly explain who we were and why we should be trusted.” Alfie rolled his eyes. “We had just been getting somewhere when you two stormed in.”
Seth snorted at the pun.
Adrian stood now, his suspicion and anger intensifying. “That’s a great story, but I still don’t get how you think anyone would trust you after what you did. You kidnapped her, for fuck’s sake! That’s not how you treat someone you’re trying to protect.”
Alfie scoffed, crossing his arms. “You talk a big game, but we don’t know much about you at all. How are we supposed to know you can be trusted?”
Adrian’s shoulders tightened, and the muscle in his jaw twitched. “Excuse me?”
“We’ve been trailing you and your family since Cordelia arrived at this goddess-forsaken place,” Alfie continued. Now Seth was standing, too. “You all seemed to take an instant liking to her. Why?”
Cori’s blood ran cold. How could she not sense them when they were following her so closely? All this time?
“It’s very unlike Cordelia to allow herself to get so close to people this quickly. It took her almost a year to accept an invitation to Anne’s house.” Another truth. “By then we had enough intelligence on Anne to know that she was a harmless human with no magical connections. But you…” he trailed off, as Adrian lunged for him. Seth caught him by the shoulder before he could raise his fist.
“Cori can clearly tell that we don’t intend to harm her,” Adrian said through gritted teeth.
Alfie smirked back at him, unafraid even though Adrian had almost drowned him moments ago. “And exactly what is your intention, then?”
Adrian flushed. “I think that’s obvious. Cori called me to help her after she was kidnapped , and I came. Actions speak louder than words, asshole.”
With that, Prudence spoke up, trembling in the shadow of the large man in front of her who had nearly just killed someone with powerful Elemental magic. “Cori should be the one to decide who she should and shouldn’t trust,” she said, making herself as tall as her petite frame would allow. “After all, she’s Celestial. You literally cannot lie or fake your way through anything with her. She can read our emotions and see into our past and future with her Eye. Right?”
Cori nodded, her throat still dry and her head heavy with the weight of the emotions that continued to bombard her from the group of magically charged witches before her.
“Can you really do all that?” Seth asked in awe.
She nodded.
“It’s true.” Adrian nodded. “I’ve seen her do it.” He locked gazes with her, and her skin prickled. “What do you sense from these people, Cori?”
She stood up and put her hand out to Prudence, who was still trembling a bit. Adrian stepped toward her, his icy blue eyes flashing with worry. Cori nodded to him, and he retreated, threading his hand through his hair.
“May I?” Cori asked, taking a few careful steps toward the frightened witch before her, as though approaching a wounded bird.
Prudence nodded, extending her hand.
Cori’s hand connected with Prudence, and her Eye rose from her heart, jumping to attention within her own mind. She allowed herself to plunge into Prudence’s magic, and Prudence opened her mind immediately .
There were no walls, no sour taste of resignation, just a minty, cool breeze of eagerness.
A young girl sat on a bench with a smartly dressed man who looked remarkably like her. They had the same upturned lips and smooth black hair. The young girl sported a neat plaid skirt and crisp white button-up blouse, her ebony hair plaited into two neat braids as she swung her Mary Jane-bedecked feet on the bench. Electric energy buzzed as a group of familiar witches strode by them.
Astrid gossiped with a few other women from coven as they set out their yoga mats facing north. The women aligned crystals at the ends of their mats, pulling energy from the sun.
The man leaned down to the girl. “That’s the coven, right there.” She nodded in response, discreetly. “They come here every Wednesday, and sometimes Cordelia comes with them. Today she must’ve stayed at home. That’s her mother, the pretty one with very blond hair. Astrid Mangianelli. Powerful witch. High priestess. Intelligence on her is that she’s very protective. She doesn’t trust a few of the elder members at all.”
“Why would she not trust them, Daddy?” Prudence whispered.
“Pudding, remember when I told you there are Charm witches out there that see the value of dark magic?” Prudence nodded, her eyes fixed on the group of witches before them. “Every coven has a few bad seeds. I am sure there are more than a few in a coven this size. You know what will happen to these witches after the prophecy comes to be.”
Prudence nodded. “They will weaken.”
“Some of them could lose their magic altogether,” he said seriously, his eyes ominous. “Depending on how dark they’ve become.”
Astrid shot a sideways glance toward the witches at the far end of the group.
Prudence took a deep, steady breath. “Well, they deserve it,” she said, pressing her lips into a line.
Her father raised an eyebrow at her. “Honey, I agree with you. But that’s why we need to know as much about these people as possible. Cordelia is our future, and this prophecy will give us peace. If something happens to her, we’ll be damned forever. Dark magic has gotten out of control.”
Pru’s cheeks flushed. “I can’t believe anyone would want to kill her. She’s just a kid.”
Her father let out a ragged breath. “Just a kid who made a prophecy that rocked the world.”
Cori’s Eye snapped closed, breaking the connection between them. She nearly collapsed on the bench as her vision swam in a flood of blurry colors. A hand rested on her shoulder, and without looking up she knew it was Adrian. His touch reinvigorated her, and she blinked hard, her body adjusting to the jump from the past.
As she regained her strength, Prudence came into focus before her, eyes wide. Cori’s mouth felt dry again as she tried to formulate her words.
“I trust them,” she whispered.