61. Cori
Cori
A pristine Christmas tree adorned the corner of the living room at Huxley Farm, glittering with heirloom ornaments and twinkling white lights. Cori breathed in the aroma of fresh pine as Hannah buzzed into the room, straightening picture frames, and dusting off the mantle.
“Hannah, it's OK. You don’t have to fuss like this,” she explained, fiddling nervously with her charm bracelet. The same bracelet that had somehow summoned her father’s spirit. A connection between realms. It was little wonder to her now why her fingers reflexively rose to the bracelet whenever she felt unsettled.
Hannah peered up from her perch on the floor where she had started to magically sweep pine needles off the tree skirt. “Are you kidding me?” she asked with a squeak in her voice. “Your family is coming here to meet us, and you think I’m not going to clean up?” She smoothed her apron down with irritation.
“At least let me help you,” Cori offered, lighting some candles on the coffee table.
“Absolutely not!” Hannah snapped at her. “In fact, get out of this house immediately. I’m sure your boyfriend misses you. Go check and see if he’s up in the apartment. And make sure he doesn’t look disgusting.” Hannah shooed her out the front door and slammed the screen shut with finality.
She eased her coat over her shoulders and pulled the zipper up to her neck, wondering if she would ever get used to the chill of Maine winters. The sun was setting over the forest to the west, lighting the sky over the ocean with an amber glow. The wispy clouds were frosted in bright pink as Saturn peeked out over the horizon.
She closed her eyes and filled her lungs with the salty air. For the first time in nearly a decade, she felt light. The prophecy was now behind her, no longer an ominous part of her future but a part of magical history. She said a prayer to the Mother that she could feel this light for the rest of her life.
Cori’s magic did not weaken after the solstice, but she would always remember her brother’s blank eyes on the car ride away from the fire. His magic, the flame living in his soul that defined who he was, was reduced to a mere ember.
In the days following the solstice, Cori and Adrian continued to use their magic tentatively. Cori could still see auras and spirits. When she kissed him, she still felt the force of the ocean rippling through her. She tried each spell and incantation gingerly, and everything seemed to be as it was. Just as Adrian had predicted, their magic was untouched.
Astrid was weakened. She and Enzo had checked into the Whitemarsh Inn after the fire. Her eyes were sad when she explained to Cori how she had been. “All of my old spells work just the same. I don’t feel any different, but”—her eyes crinkled with sadness. “I tried to conjure a new spell today, and I could not seem to create anything new.” She shrugged. “I guess an old lady like me won’t have much use for new magic, anyway.”
Cori heaved a sigh. “But what will it be like for all the new Charms witches who have not yet come of age?” she asked with worry.
“I expect it will take time. The Other needs to be restored,” she explained wistfully. “Until then, Charms witches will be limited in what they can do. ”
After the prophecy, the mystery of the Other made more sense to Cori than it ever had. Charms witches pulled energy from each other, and there used to be a strength in numbers. After so many witches lost their power, it made sense that the ability to create new spells would be hindered.
It was almost as if the Other had been cleansed of the darkness, but the past had left a stain.
The Celestial Other was different. It was so immense that the magic of the stars and spirit realm could not be touched by the evil actions of witches. Adrian’s magic also seemed untouched, solidifying his belief that the Elemental Other was much bigger than the witches that pulled energy from it.
As she made her way up the wooden steps to Adrian and Seth’s apartment, she heard excited chatter coming from upstairs. She entered to find Seth and Adrian sitting on their couch while entertaining Jordan and Jess.
As soon as they had arrived home from Salem, Seth had proposed to Jess. He had been unusually quiet on the way home, and as soon as he parked the truck, he left abruptly, saying there was something he had to do.
Jess had accepted his proposal (to nobody’s surprise) and Seth had spent the past few days explaining everything to her.
Much to Seth’s amazement, Jess was not at all surprised to learn he was a witch. Apparently, Seth had a hard time keeping his powers hidden from her in certain situations. Jess convinced Seth to tell Jordan, as well. She simply didn’t keep secrets from her best friend. Jordan, on the other hand, was shocked and angry that the Huxley’s and Cori had been keeping such a colossal secret from him all this time.
When he found out about Alfie, his stance on the subject morphed from anger to intrigue. It was one thing to find out a bunch of your friends were witches, but it was completely different to find out the man you have been sleeping with had been one all along.
“I feel like Bella from Twilight ,” he had explained to Cori.
“Except we aren’t vampires, Jordan. ”
He had promptly told her to shut up and stop raining on his parade.
As she entered the room, Seth was replaying the events of the fire for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“Cori, if you ever summon a ghost in front of me, I will divorce you as my friend,” Jordan warned her.
“What did you tell the police when they got there?” Jess asked, her attention focused on her fiancé as though he were the only person in the room.
“Prudence and Alfie helped with that,” Seth explained. “They can modify people’s memories.” Jordan’s eyes widened. “They constructed a story that we were out hiking when we saw a forest fire. Even though Fin was the one who put out the fire, all the firemen remember heroically fighting it.”
“Did they find the bodies of all the evil witches that died?” she asked.
Cori shivered. “The Byzantine fire didn’t leave any trace of their bodies. All the humans at the scene were relieved that the house had been abandoned. Or so they thought.”
“What happened to the Fire witch?” Jordan asked with a shudder.
“Fin went back to his mother’s house in Boston. He and his family are originally from Ireland, and he said he had some business to attend to there,” Adrian said darkly.
“Did you tell Ariel about him?” Jess asked, her eyebrows raised high.
Seth chuckled. “Are you kidding me? Mom and Dad would kill us. Not sure how great of an influence he would be on her.”
Cori shrugged, remembering how Fin had shown her a part of himself when he was trapped in the Sampson house. He may have a poor reputation, but her Eye told her that his intentions were good.
She wondered what kind of business he had to attend to in Ireland. “I don’t think he would be too much of a bad influence. He helped us, after all.”
“Nah, if he hadn’t shown up, Adrian would have just killed them all with his ice weapons,” Seth joked.
Cori smirked at Adrian, who had blushed.
“Can all Water Elementals turn water to ice?” Jess asked, raising her eyebrows at Seth.
“Nope. Dad and I can’t. That’s one of my brother’s special talents,” Seth explained, nudging Adrian on the arm.
“Wow, Adrian. You’re just like Elsa,” Jordan reasoned.
Adrian glared at him through Seth’s roar of laughter.
A flash of headlights beamed into the room as Seth looked down at his watch. “Shit. Cori, that must be your family. Sorry to cut this short, we have strict instructions from Ma that we have to look presentable.” Seth was still wearing his coveralls that were smeared with what looked like some kind of bait.
Adrian and Cori walked Jess and Jordan out and headed toward the door of the farmhouse.
“You’re nervous.” He put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulders with a knowing smile.
“I can’t believe I have a niece,” she said, shaking her head.
“She’s going to love you.” He kissed the top of her forehead. “You didn’t have any feelings or visions about her?”
“You know what? I think I did. I had sensed her, but I didn’t know who she was.” She sighed heavily. It had not been long ago that she had known Adrian in the same way, familiar in her dreams but a stranger to her reality. “I wonder if she knew about me.” She had been so disconnected from her brother’s life, but Sofia was Celestial. “Are you nervous to officially meet my brother?”
Adrian stopped in his tracks on the garden path, his face stern. “I know he’s your brother. I know he did the right thing in the end. He saved your life, Cor. For that I will always be grateful to him.” His mouth was a straight line as the muscle in his jaw twitched. “I will always respect him,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust him.”
Cori nodded in understanding. Respect is a gift, but trust is earned .
Adrian shoved his hand in his pocket and climbed the steps to the farmhouse. Inside excited chatter from Hannah and Ariel echoed her mother’s dreamy voice as Adrian entered through the creaky front door.
She looked over the side of the cliff, watching the silver beams of starlight glittering on the crests of the waves below. Cori whispered a message of thanks to the sky.