Magick (Book 3 in the Coven Series) Page 13

  We stand still for so long that my back begins to ache. Still, Keller doesn’t loosen his hold on me. Neither does Egan. With just enough of my sensory ability to make it possible, I track Sean’s movements outside. He searches the cemetery, trying to figure out the origin of the magical burst. I feel his confusion at the nature of the signature, one he’s never encountered, and thankfully, he doesn’t recognize it as mine. Does my white magic hide my signature, or has it changed altogether?

  I force myself to take slow, calming breaths as Sean draws closer. Though Keller and Toni cannot feel my emotions the way I can theirs, I still hope my attempts at calm will rub off on them, especially Toni. I sense how every muscle in her body is tensed almost to the breaking point.

  My muscles don’t fare any better when Sean reaches the area right outside the crypt. I know it might seem strange for a witch to pray while standing inside a crypt, but that’s exactly what I do. I pray that Sean cannot sense us in here, that the spell against dark witches is still in place, that he will leave and soon.

  I hold my breath when I sense him standing right outside, no more than three feet in front of me. None of us dares to move, and I can tell the others are holding their breath, too. The silence stretches unmercifully until suddenly there is a jolt in the energy outside followed by a yelp. I jump at the sound but just manage to keep myself quiet. Toni squeaks, but Egan snatches his hand out of mine to wrap both arms around her. I don’t have to see them to picture their movements exactly.

  Loud cursing makes its way through the stone, and this time I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. But my internal laughter dies when I sense Sean aiming his magic at the crypt. I have no time to warn the others, and I can’t risk speaking anyway.

  When the blast of energy comes, I squeeze Keller’s hand so hard I’m afraid I might hear bones start to crack. Outside, the ricochet of energy bouncing off the spell sends Sean flying halfway across the cemetery. He slams into an old headstone and breaks it in half.

  He doesn’t approach again. Instead, I sense him moving away then stopping. I strain to hear, but he’s too far away. After a few minutes in which I detect flashes of Sean’s irritation, he begins to walk away again. I have no doubt he’ll report this to my father, and that will be enough to bring the covens here in force. Even after he’s beyond where I can sense him, I don’t move or say anything for a couple of minutes.

  “He’s gone,” I say, keeping my voice soft.

  “One problem solved,” Egan says. “Now how do we get out of here?”

  I step forward and place my hands on the stone about where I think the sun carving is on the outside. Nothing happens. Now my panic threatens. If I’m the only person who can open this thing and I’m inside, how the hell do we get out? I press my forehead against the cold stone as someone turns on a flashlight. I remember the ring I slid into my pocket when I first sensed Sean approaching the cemetery. I pull it out and rotate it between my forefinger and thumb for a moment. Then I slide it onto my right ring finger and place my hands back where I’d had them a moment ago. The stone slides aside, revealing that night has fallen while we waited.

  “Quick and quiet,” I say. I urge them all out ahead of me, and I glance back over my shoulder to make sure we aren’t followed. I’m happy to see the dark shape of the Jeep when we top the hill, but I don’t truly relax until we are safely back inside the Bane’s compound.

  “Hey, here’s an idea,” Egan says as he leans against the wall just inside the facility’s exit. “Let’s not do that again.”

  “I second that,” Toni says.

  Sarah and the others appear at the opposite end of the hall.

  “What took you so long?” Rule asks as he strides toward us. “We were about to head out to get you.”

  “If someone can get me a Coke and something really, really chocolatey, I’ll tell you everything,” I say.

  A moment of silence is followed by a snort from Toni. I think it’s the release of stress, but the four of us start to laugh until we can barely breath. Everyone else looks at us as if we’ve lost our minds. Maybe we have.

  Chapter Ten

  After our laughing fit runs its course, everyone gathers in Sarah’s office. After downing half a Coke in one gulp and indulging in a couple of bites of a brownie, I recount what happened at the cemetery with the others contributing parts of the story. “As soon as Sean moved out of range, I was able to open the crypt and we got out of there as fast as we could,” I say.

  “You’re sure you weren’t followed?” Amanda asks.

  I nod. I did a thorough scan before we turned into the driveway here, then again before we went into the house. Nothing.

  “Was it all worth it?” Sarah asks.

  “Yes.” I lift the page of the Beginning Book. “This may change witchdom forever, for the good.” I look down at the paper and begin to read.

  Where there is darkness, there must also be light. A great evil cannot come into the world without provision for its removal. Balance is essential. Each generation will have one witch who has the power of Magick, the potential to bring about the balance. Only that witch may wear the White Ring and thus have the power to drain any witch of dark magic with a touch. Once drained, the dark magic may never return. These witches will become pale witches with all the same powers but fed now by light magic. The first witch converted will be the right hand of the white witch, and will share the most powerful connection.

  I let the words settle for a moment before looking up. I pull the White Ring from my pocket.

  “Opal,” Adele says. “That makes sense. It’s a symbol of hope and is the most powerful of the healing stones.”

  It’s hard to believe that kind of power lies within a ring and inside me. But is it any more unbelievable than witches drawing evil power from fissures in the earth?

  “Can this possibly work?” Hope asks as she looks around at her Bane sisters.

  “If Penelope went through so much trouble to protect this secret, I have to think so,” Sarah says. “I’ll go first to make sure.”

  Egan moves next to me. “No. That’s for me to do.”

  Toni jumps up from where she’s sitting on the arm of one of the couches. “Egan.” Her worry that she’s come this far only to lose him hits me like a tidal wave. Egan feels it, too.

  “I’ll be okay.” He looks my way. “Let’s do this.”

  “Now?”

  He nods. “We have to know if it works. You’ve got a room full of witches waiting their turn if it does.”

  “Wait,” Keller says. “It doesn’t say anything about how this will affect Jax.”

  His concern lifts my heart, but it doesn’t change what has to happen. “I don’t have a choice.”

  “You do. We can try to find another way.”

  Normally, Keller would be all for a way to rid the world of dark witches. That he’s not tells me just how deep his feelings have grown for me.

  “I’ll be fine,” I say. “I don’t think balance is achieved if the one bringing the balance croaks.” Despite my assurances, my nerves start dancing. I’m not alone. Egan talks a good game, but he’s every bit as nervous as I am.

  We turn to face each other. “Hey, try not to fry my brains, okay?”

  “Well, no danger there.”

  Keller snorts despite his concern.

  I take Egan’s hands and notice his binding bracelet. “We need to take this off.” I’m not sure how I know that, but I hear it with absolute certainty in my mind.

  “You sure?” he asks.

  “I need to be able to access all of your dark magic. I don’t want any hiding behind this.” I lift his hand to indicate the bracelet.

  Nobody questions me, and Caren comes forward to remove the binding. When the bracelet comes off, Egan’s dark magic surges to the surface and for a moment I see his eyes turn black. His body goes rigid. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Toni take a step toward him before Keller catches her around the waist and holds her back.


  The darkness within Egan struggles against me. It knows what I’m about to do. I squeeze his hands harder and concentrate on the dark energy inside him. Slowly it starts moving toward the center of him, like water swirling toward a drain. I mentally call it to me, and I suck in a little breath when the dark magic moves down his arms, through our clasped hands and up my arms. I feel as if our arms are not separate but one conduit for the magic. Gradually, all his dark magic makes its way across that bridge into me. Nausea starts in the pit of my stomach, and for a second I fear this is too much for me to handle. Was Sarah right about me needing to pull more power from a fissure? But the moment the last of Egan’s magic enters me, the nausea and the magic simply disappear.

  Egan sucks in a huge gulp of air and staggers back from me. Disbelief widens his eyes as he looks down at his hands, turning them over to examine both sides. His eyes meet mine. “Are you okay?” he asks.

  I search myself for any hint of dark magic as well as the answer to his question. Finally, I nod. “Yeah. A little tired, but good.”

  “What happened?” Rule asks.

  I describe the transfer and how the magic simply disappeared.

  “There’s nothing left?” Sarah asks.

  “Nothing. Completely gone.”

  “It’s a miracle,” Hope says.

  “Good triumphing over evil,” Caren adds.

  I meet Egan’s gaze again. “How do you feel?”

  “Better than I have in my entire life. Like I can do anything. But that deep desire to be selfish and cruel is gone.”

  Toni rushes to him and wraps him in her arms. I feel her love for him, and his relief that he no longer has to worry about hurting her.

  Piper jumps to her feet. “I want to go next.”

  One look at her and I remember our conversation that night in this same room, how she wants to be free of her Bane commitment so she can live the life she wants. I motion for her to come toward me.

  Sarah steps up next to us. “We don’t know what will happen when we take off our bracelets. We’ve worn them since birth.”

  “I can handle it,” I say.

  There’s excitement in Piper’s dark brown eyes as she clasps my hands. I brace myself for the moment when her binding is removed. The shock hits me like a lightning bolt. This darkness is older, darker, held captive within Piper’s bloodline for three centuries. It claws at me with a viciousness I’ve never felt before.

  I focus on the lightness inside me and stoke that fire until Piper’s dark magic begins the same exit process Egan’s did. When it finally leaves her and disappears, she starts to cry and hugs me.

  “Thank you,” she says next to my ear.

  I hug her back, knowing that no matter where life takes both of us we’ll always be friends. She releases me and walks away. I notice Rule waiting for her, and he takes her hand in his when she reaches him. I can’t help but smile.

  I go through the same process with Caren and Hope, leaving only Sarah. I feel a little woozy and grip the back of one of the high-backed chairs. Suddenly, Keller is right in front of me. “You need to rest.”

  “I only have one more to do now.”

  “It can wait,” Sarah says.

  I shake my head. “No, I’d rather finish tonight.”

  “Jax,” Keller says, not letting me have my way so easily this time.

  I grip his upper arm. “Really, I’m okay. One more and I’m done.” And thank goodness for that. I feel a touch too jittery and lightheaded. I make the mistake of meeting Egan’s eyes. I try to communicate with a look that he shouldn’t say anything.

  Sarah steps forward. “It is a good thing you’re doing. But only do this if you’re sure you can handle it. I would expect that as head of the Bane, my dark magic might be a little angrier than the others.”

  I don’t like the sound of that, and for a moment I consider holding off until tomorrow. But I really do just want to be done so I can go sleep for about twelve hours. I lift my hands, and after a moment’s hesitation she places hers in mine. Caren does the unbinding honors. The second the binding slips free, darkness rushes at me and I stumble. I catch myself at the same time I realize I can’t release Sarah’s hands even if I want to.

  Sarah’s magic does its best to resist me, but eventually it starts moving my direction. I fight not only it but also the nausea building in my stomach and the shaking in my extremities. I feel sweat forming on my skin. It seems to take about twice as long, but finally the last of Sarah’s dark magic leaves her body. I panic when it doesn’t immediately disappear, instead lingering for a frightening moment before going poof.

  My legs give way, but I don’t hit the floor. In one swift motion, Keller grabs me behind the shoulders and knees and lifts me into his arms. “That’s enough for tonight,” he says and stalks from the room.

  “Where are you taking me?” My voice feels too far away, like I’m in the process of passing out.

  “To bed.”

  That gets my attention. “Really?”

  He smiles. “Someday.”

  My body goes tingly all over, in a good way.

  “But for now,” he says, more seriously, “you are going to get several hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

  I lean my head against his shoulder. “That sounds wonderful.”

  When he reaches the room I share with Toni, he opens the door without setting me down. He takes the three whole strides it requires his long legs to reach my bed and lays me down gently. When he starts to stand straight, I grab his shirt. “Don’t leave.”

  He stretches out beside me and pulls me into his arms. “You did too much.”

  “I did what had to be done.”

  “Not all tonight.”

  A shiver goes through me, and Keller pulls the blanket up over us.

  “I needed to know how it works, what I can do, if there are limits,” I say.

  “Well, now we know you need to go slower.” He rubs my arm lazily.

  I place my hand against his chest. “We both know that might not always be possible. I have to figure out how to keep going in case we’re faced with way more than five witches.” I consider telling him about the fissure, but I don’t want to worry him. And, honestly, I’m just too tired to go into it.

  He pulls back and frames my jaw with one hand. “You don’t have to be a martyr.”

  “I’m not going to die.”

  “You better not,” he says with a determined ferocity. And then his lips descend to mine. Everything outside this room fades away, replaced by the warmth and strength of Keller. My hands find their way underneath his shirt and over the lean muscles of his chest. His wide hand meets the skin of my back, too.

  Though I want nothing more than for this to go on all night, this and honestly more, I pull back and look into his eyes. He looks half-drugged. I run my fingertips over his wet lips. “I—”

  He leans his forehead against mine. “I know.”

  Keller straightens my shirt and pulls me close so that my ear is next to his heart. I smile to hear it beating so wildly.

  “You make me crazy sometimes,” he says. “Always putting yourself in danger.”

  I run my finger in a lazy, swirling pattern on his chest until he clasps my hand in his to stop me.

  “Or when you do things like that,” he says.

  I snuggle closer and listen to the rhythm of his breathing. “I have to do this, Keller. After all this time, I finally have a way to get rid of the coven threat. Everyone will be safer when it’s gone. You’ll be safer.”

  He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll do whatever you need me to.”

  We lie in silence for several minutes while I alternate between being incredibly happy to be held by him and thinking back over the huge changes this day has brought. When I follow my thoughts through the day to the point where I realized I couldn’t separate from Sarah, I curl closer to Keller.

  “What is it?” he asks against my temple.

  I know I have to tell him the trut
h, though it will just make him worry more. I plan to be with him for a long time, so I don’t want any secrets between us. “I’m going to tell you something because you need to know. But it’s not going to change my mind about what I have to do.”

  “Why do I not like the sound of this?” He shifts so that he can make eye contact.

  “If I end up converting witches where there’s more than one nearby, I will need protection.”

  “Of course.”

  “Because,” I continue, “when I’m in the process of draining the dark magic, I can’t disconnect from the other person. Once it starts, I have to keep going until it’s finished.”

  Keller stares at me for a moment before rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. “There’s always a catch.”

  “But we can plan this so that it works. I’ll start with Sean. I think he’s here alone, unless he’s called in the cavalry already.”

  “So all we have to do is capture a coven enforcer.”

  And now for the next part of the bomb. “It won’t be a problem if he’s alone because I’m more powerful than him now. So is Egan.”

  Keller turns his head toward me, questions in his eyes.

  “I didn’t notice it at first, but I got a little more powerful with each draining. Because Egan and I are connected and he’s the first witch I converted, so did he.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “There’s just more magic to draw from now, a deeper well.” Maybe I really will be able to do this without drawing from the fissure.

  Keller rolls back onto his side, and the way his T-shirt stretches across his chest distracts me for a moment. “Do you think that’s where the dark magic goes when you draw it out? Does it change to light magic and stay within you?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. I guess it makes more sense than it disappearing into thin air.”

  Keller pushes a lock of my hair back behind my ear. “Does it scare you, having that much power?”

  “It would if it was dark magic.” I still see concern in his eyes, feel it within him. “I know there’s the whole absolute power corrupts absolutely thing, but I think I’m okay. And I have you and the others beside me if I’m not.”