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  Before I could put my finger on what had happened, I found myself asleep in Zarricks arms and feeling safer than I thought I could with a Demon after me.

  Fourteen

  I stood in the middle of Caleb’s circle, but it wasn’t me. I knew that much. It was Zarrick. I watched as he gathered the rest of his members, four more in total around the circle. They were all dressed in dark clothing and had their heads covered, concealing their faces.

  They joined their hands, and me as Zarrick watched as the air shimmered around the circle. They had so much power. I could feel it all around me. Everything was humming from the floor to the air, everything.

  “Do you agree to be in this Coven and abide by all the laws of magick?” Caleb said.

  “Yes,” Me as Zarrick said without hesitation.

  “By this blood, you are united with our Coven until you join the afterlife,” He said. Caleb pulled a knife from a nearby table and cut his hand. He walked to Zarrick and put his hand on his forehead. I could feel the instant power boost and gasped. The magick was strong and filled every part of my body.

  “You are now our sixth Witch.”

  The words faded as I started to wake. I opened my eyes to an empty bed and dark room. I pulled the sheet over my naked body, but knew I’d been sleeping for too long. I didn’t have much time left with these men and I wanted to make the most out of learning what could happen.

  I pulled on my clothing and slowly opened the door to an empty hallway. I breathed a sigh of relief I wouldn’t have to do a long walk of shame.

  When I got to my room, there was a gift on the night stand beside my bed. A white pendent with a pink Oleander flower engraved on it. I smiled, wondering if it was from Zarrick or Zander. They both knew how much I loved flowers, but this one seemed to have a special meaning I didn’t quite understand yet. I put the necklace around my neck and made my way down the hallway towards the balcony I’d grown to adore over the last few days. Sitting at the table reading a book was Zander.

  “I hope you are prepared to study today.” He didn’t even look up from his book. “Even if you choose to give up your powers, it’s useful to know where they came from.”

  “I didn’t realize you cared so much if I knew anything,” I said taking a seat next to him.

  He laid his book on the table and smiled at me. “Something tells me you won’t be giving up your gifts anytime soon.” He lowered his gaze and cocked his head.

  “What?” I said without thinking. He seemed to know something I didn’t. That was starting to get annoying.

  “Nothing.” He looked deep into my eyes and leaned towards me. “I just want you to be safe. We’ll work on some basic protections.” His eyes slid to my necklace. “Good, you found the amulet I left for you.”

  “This?” My fingers slid over the soft grooves of the engraved flower.

  “You can’t feel the power in it?”

  “I didn’t really try.” I bit my lip. “Are these all things I should already know?”

  “Most would, but you just started and so many other things have been happening.”

  I closed my hand around the pendent and closed my eyes. My hand tingled and I smiled. That was what he meant. I felt protected and safe. This amulet was more powerful than just a pretty necklace.

  “That’s a start,” Zander said, pulling me out of my daze. “The Oleander is our sigil. It not only marks our Coven; it marks our territory.”

  “Alda had one carved into her table at her home.”

  “She does. Alda was our first member. Coven’s cycle through members through the years. We get older and pass the magick to another generation. She was a founding member in the early days and the last to leave of her generation.” He pulled my hand to his. “She is very protective of us and Caleb’s Coven.”

  “What’s the deal with Caleb’s Coven?” I didn’t say anything about the dream I’d had. That was a conversation for Zarrick.

  “Alda had a friend who had a different view point on how the Coven should be ran. He wanted each member to retain their own power. Alda thought it was better to share powers among all members. She thought it made a stronger Coven.”

  “Let me guess, the friend started Caleb’s Coven.” I said.

  “Yes, he started the Coven Caleb heads and is still a large part of it. That is why he was so interested in you. Every member that comes through this area is to work with both and choose before the next New Moon.”

  “But Zarrick changed that?” I wasn’t sure what he had to do with everything, but for whatever reason his choices had challenged mine.

  “He did. No one in the history of the two has defected from one to the other. He was the first and probably the last now.” Zander smiled. “I’m sorry, I made a mistake.”

  “I know you called for me.” I was blunt.

  “I had to. You have no idea how hard it is to lead a Coven when you can feel what’s happening in the air.” Zander ran his hand through his hair.

  “How does the magick of the Coven work?” I knew they had different gifts, but it seemed they liked to keep them under wraps.

  “We don’t talk about what we can do on our own with people outside the Coven. It’s one of our most important rules.”

  “That’s why you haven’t told me,” I said taking a breath. “You still can’t.”

  “No, Zarrick told you too much as it is.” He sighed. “It’s to protect ourselves. If other Covens knew our gifts, they could figure out our weaknesses.”

  “Do Covens fight each other?” This all seemed like some weird spy movie but with magick and Witches.

  “Not normally, but there are some off shoots that don’t report to the council. Those are the ones to worry about.”

  I glanced at the table and laughed slightly. “I hope salt isn’t on your list of protections.”

  “You’d be surprised how well it can protect you.” He took the container in his hand. “Salt lines can protect against the fiercest of evils. It’s better if you can add Dragon’s Blood, a resin, with it. You can also add simple things like chili powder.”

  “I didn’t realize my kitchen could be so protective,” I quipped.

  “There is magick in everything,” He said putting the salt down and standing. “The biggest defense is yourself. You have to learn to depend on it and the magick you have inside you.”

  “Like when I was with Zarrick in the Desert.”

  “Something like that. He was tempering you magick, but it’s a start,” he said taking my hand.

  “I don’t want to do that again, really.” I didn’t. the feeling of all that power was a combination of scary and exhilarating.

  “You have to be able to control it as least a little or you could lose control when you are inducted into any Coven.”

  I took his hand and felt an instant surge in power. It wasn’t like before. This was stronger and darker. I gasped at the sudden influx.

  Zander flinched. “You’re getting stronger.” He grabbed my other hand and completed the circle. “All the more reason to learn it.”

  The air softened and I felt as though I could breathe without so much effort, but the magick was so strong. I wanted to tear my hands from his at the same time I wanted to lean into him and kiss his lips.

  “You have access to my power and yours right now,” He said.

  “Because we’re touching,” I whispered.

  He nodded and closed the distance between us. He slid his hand up my arm. “We don’t have to hold hands, if you don’t want to.” His hand cupped my face before he leaned closer. “Having access to each other’s power can create amazing things.” His breath was hot on my skin. “It’s too bad I can’t defy the council, because that’s all I want to do right now.”

  “Me too,” I said it before I realized. He laughed slightly before pulling away and breaking the circle. I felt the tingle of the power as it dissipated.

  “I can’t protect you at the Council. You’ll be on your own,” he said. “You wil
l have to use your own energy to protect yourself if you need to.”

  “I don’t know if I can,” I said.

  “You have to.”

  “Do you know something I don’t?” I watched him as he messed with his hair.

  “No, just a feeling.”

  I smiled. “I’m not your problem after today.”

  “You were never a problem. I wanted you here more than I’ve ever wanted someone. It takes everything I have to not run with you someplace the Council can’t find us.”

  “Then why don’t you?” I took a step towards him.

  “Because we work for the council. No matter what else happens.”

  “So, you won’t defy them even if it’s wrong?” I knew I was pushing.

  Zander smiled and grabbed the salt from the table. “That’s enough training.” He snapped. “You’ll learn more from your Coven if that’s your choice.”

  Fifteen

  Zander held the door for me as I got out of the car at Alda’s house. Zane was standing by the car waiting for me. Neither men had talked since I’d gotten into the car to come here, but they both seemed pretty down about the whole thing.

  “Where’s Zarrick?” I asked as Zane took my hand. The familiar sense of calm came over me and I smiled.

  “No one knows. We don’t usually keep track of him. He’s kind of a loner,” Zane said as we walked.

  “I see. A loner in a Coven. That seems a little odd,” I said.

  “Maybe, but his brand of loner fits in just fine.” Zane smiled as we walked through the door of Alda’s home.

  “I’m sorry about all this,” I said. I didn’t know why I felt like I’d done this to them. I was hurting them by not defying the Council.

  “It’s not you. This is bigger than all of us. We have to do what’s going to help the greater good, even if we don’t like it.” Zane stopped in the living room area and waited for Alda to come in. It was crowded and full of Witches I’d never met and some I wished would leave.

  “So, today’s the day we find out where you go, little Witch.” Caleb was leaning on the wall closet to us. He looked annoyed, but also relieved at the same time. “Let’s hope you come to my Coven. We know how to respect real power.”

  “That’s because that’s all you care about,” Zane said without missing a beat.

  “Maybe that’s what we need to stop this Demon.”

  “Maybe it’s what you think you need to defeat the Demon.”

  He stepped towards us. “If that’s the case, then Zander thinks the same way. Why would he call her if he didn’t?”

  “That’s not your concern, Caleb,” Zander said stepping to the other side of me.

  Caleb smiled, but didn’t back down. “I really hope she’s not in my Coven, then. You might have a fight on your hands.” He walked away and Zander just shook his head.

  “I thought it was only off shoots I needed to worry about.” I quipped.

  Zander shrugged.

  Everything got quite as Alda entered the room and I watched the woman who would decide my fate. She smiled at me and then glanced at Zander.

  “Our newest Witch is here tonight to decide if she will give her gifts up and live a normal life or if she will embrace the council’s choice in Coven.” Alda motioned for me and I stepped reluctantly over to her. “What is your choice, my dear?”

  I glanced at Zander, who was watching me closely and then to Zane. I wished Zarrick was there. My heart ached at the thought. I was so connected to these men, but Zarrick and I had shared something that I’d never forget no matter what happened next.

  “I…” My eyes met Zanders and I smiled slightly. “I will join you’re Coven.” It felt wrong and gross to denounce the men who’d saved me and helped me understand magick even a little. They had saved me from a life that would never be my own.

  “Fantastic,” Alda said almost too happy. “We have chosen your Coven members and will induct you immediately.” Even as Alda spoke, my eyes never left Zanders until he walked through the kitchen and through the door of the home. My heart fell.

  Alda pulled me through the living area to the courtyard and into the center. I watched as the others filtered through the door and took their places in the circle or near the door on the outside of the circle.

  “With the coming evil, we decided to create a new Coven with only the strongest of our kind together to change our future history,” Alda glanced at me. “This is our first and more important member.”

  “I have chosen our member,” the blond woman from the first time I’d been at Alda’s and in front of the council said. I followed her gaze as a young woman with red hair stepped forward.

  Each member offered up their best until there were twelve other people standing in the center beside me. They were all different. Some had power you could feel and others looked like they didn’t belong, but that was a deceiving thought.

  “This is the Coven that will save us from evil,” Alda said. “We will bind them together tonight under the dark moon.”

  I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up.

  Sixteen

  The courtyard had an ominous feeling when it was cleared out. Even the members of the council were escorted out. All that remained were myself and the other twelve people chosen for the Coven and Alda of course.

  “You are the narrowed down group for this Coven. I won’t be taking all of you despite what your leaders may have said. There was a choir of confused chatter. I just watched what was happening.

  Alda picked through the group. The first was a young man in his mid-twenties. He had short light brown hair and wore glasses. He wasn’t someone I expected to see in a Coven of Witches, but here he was.

  The next was an older man in his mid-thirties. He smiled a cocky smile as though he knew he’d be chosen and brushed his blond hair out of his face. I caught him looking me up and down and cocking an eyebrow.

  After that they started to blur together until she got to the fifth spot. She looked at me and smiled. “Of course you will be in this Coven. We are doing this to protect you.” I stepped out of the group and she dismissed the others. “Now that we have our Coven, we need to bind you together.”

  She stood us in a circle and drew sigils into the ground in front of us. Each had the sigil of the Coven we’d came from until she came to me.

  “You haven’t been introduced to witchcraft before this so you will need to be in the middle,” she said with a smile. I glanced around me as I did what she said, but something felt off. Something wasn’t right with any of this. I knew it deep in my bones, but it I defied the council, they could take it out on Zander and the others. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Alda took a small blade from her pocket and cut each of the four others before coming to me. She held her hand out and smiled. I gave her my hand and she ran the blade across it. The sharp sensation of pain was quickly followed by the tingle of magick. I’d seen this before in the dream with Zarrick. This was how she bound me to the coven and them to me.

  She stood in front of me as she drew each line of my sigil. “You know you’re a rare one. We don’t see many Witches that can do what you can do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She stopped halfway through my sigil and glanced up at me. “You mean you haven’t even tried to see what your gifts were?”

  “No, I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “Oh, Cat. You are so much more than just a Witch with a few abilities. You are the key to other worlds,” Alda said finishing my rune. “You have enough power to tear holes between dimensions and allow yourself or others to travel through.”

  “That’s why I’m so important to this Demon,” I said figuring out what she was saying.

  She smiled. “And to us.”

  My gaze slid to the sigil on the ground in front of me. It glowed with power and I squinted, realizing I’d seen it before. I’d seen it in my dream. I’d seen it release the Demon we were supposed to be fighting and I realized something e
lse.

  Alda was on the wrong side.

  Seventeen

  I tried to move my feet, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “I knew you would figure it out. You’re too smart for your own good, but don’t let the others in on our secret. They can’t help you anyway,” Alda whispered.

  I put my hand on the Oleander Necklace Zander had given me and felt an instant calm. Alda followed my hand with her gaze and shook her head.

  “We don’t want that on right now, it could bloke your power. We need every bit of it for this.” She pulled my hand away and ripped the necklace from my neck. Alda gave it a toss and I watched it bounce off the wall of the house near the door of the courtyard. She smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. “You are doing this world a great service. It needs to be cleansed. There is so much hate and so much pain. We can change it.”

  “You’re letting something free that will kill everything,” I spat.

  “Not everything,” She snapped.

  “I won’t help you.”

  “You don’t have to willingly. The circle will do it for you.” She laughed as she turned away from me and finished the sigils for the rest of the circle. Everything was a mess. I thought I was helping Zander and the others, but all I had done was put them in more danger. Once this Demon was let loose, it would kill everyone and destroy everything in its path and it would be my fault.

  Alda stood in front of me, but outside the circle. She held her hands up and started the chant. The others followed obediently. I felt the tingle in the air get stronger as they chanted. Every second I stood there, the thick veil of magick permeated the air.

  I could see the air shimmer with the weight of it and what seemed like small sparks within each molecule. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Then a small break in it that gave me a moment to catch my breath.

  “Alda, have you lost your mind?” Zander’s voice said from behind me.

  “You are small minded. You wouldn’t understand what needs to be done,” Alda answered.