In the corner, tied together, were my two best friends.
“B-Brooke, wh-wh-what’s going on?” Courtney stuttered while looking as if she’d just stepped out of a teen fashion magazine.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, as if that could ever be enough.
“Before you get any ideas, the rope they’re bound with is magical. As long as it binds them, your magic cannot touch them.” Margaret looked from me to Marcus, then back to me. “One false move from either of you, and I will cut out their hearts so fast, their blood won’t have a chance to spill. Or, I can dissect them slowly and messily. That will depend on how well you follow direction.” She smiled, as if enjoying herself immensely. “Once the seal is broken, I will send them back to Boston immediately with no recollection of the night’s events.”
Courtney shrieked. Luke swore, loudly. Before I could blink, Margaret was standing in front of them with the point of a dagger pressed against Luke’s chest.
“You may be strong now, maybe even stronger than me, but I doubt you can whisk everyone out of here at once. Choose your path wisely.”
“We’ll do what you ask,” Marcus blurted. “But how do we know you’ll keep your promise and release them?”
“You’ll just have to trust me.” Her sinister grin wasn’t reassuring.
I looked at my terrified friends and felt ashamed of who I was.
“Let’s get on with it,” I said defeated.
The seven of us joined hands. With Marcus to my right, Evan to my left and the others in their positions, we began the casting.
“Guardians of spirit,” Margaret began. “I invoke thee. Enrich us with your divine presence.” When she fell silent, the purple candle behind her burst into a toxic purple flame that shot upwards.
Courtney shrieked.
As I stared into the crystal, I saw a tiny fleck of purple dance in its center.
Next was earth. Robyn called upon the guardians of earth. Before the last words had sprung from her mouth, the green candle behind her shot an iridescent green flame into the air. Inside the crystal septagram, a tiny fleck of green swirled fluently with the purple.
Sammy invoked air, Megan water, and Evan fire. The multi-colored life in the center of the crystal grew, swirling violently.
Marcus squeezed my hand and began his invocation. He called upon the guardians of dark. Instantly the swirl of colors seemed to disappear, but really, their colors were just hidden within the darkness. The flame on his candle was strikingly black.
Everyone but Marcus, who I had the feeling wasn’t too proud of himself, glared at me, almost hungrily, waiting.
I sighed and called upon the guardians of light—my element. The spirits of light—which only I had the ability to feel, embraced me, letting me know they were there. Although I couldn’t see it, I felt the heat behind me as the white candle burst into a pure white flame. The light, as if taken by force, was pulled from around me and sucked into the center of the crystal, illuminating some of the over-powering darkness, creating a perfect balance. For the first time in a century, the colors in the center of the crystal pulsed with renewed life.
The energy in the room swirled around us, prickling the skin, awakening the most remote cells in our bodies. I’d forgotten what a rush it was to cast a circle—an ecstasy far beyond words. Much greater than any human experience could ever be.
“It is time to break the seal.” Margaret’s voice betrayed her obvious hunger for the power within.
With our hands linked to keep the circle alive, we began the chant we’d devised a century ago—mine and Marcus’ last task as part of the Coven of Seven. This time though, we chanted in reverse.
If the seal were to break, each element would aid the trapped magic in finding its way to the tips of the crystal, where it would be released into the room to find its conjurer, thus increasing his or her power.
After a long span of chanting, nothing happened. Then suddenly, Courtney shrieked my name out. Startled, I looked over at her and Luke.
Spidery lines of crimson appeared on their faces, traveling in no particular pattern down their necks, as if someone with a shaky hand were sketching them on with a razor blade. Blood beaded down every line.
“Stop it!” I yelled to Margaret.
At once, the crimson lines ceased their travel and disappeared, as if they were never there.
Margaret laughed darkly. “I warned you not to disobey me.”
“I haven’t disobeyed you.” I said, sharply.
“The seal stays shut!”
The malevolent look in her eyes stopped my heart.
“If you wanted the seal to open it would have been open by now.”
“The binding of the seal is stronger than you thought,” I said. “Than any of us thought it would be. Maybe we can’t unbind our own seal.”
Then without thinking, I let go of Evan’s hand, thus breaking the circle. The look on Margaret’s face then would have made the devil cringe. Marcus reached an arm out in front of me and pushed me behind him.
The blaze from the seven candles dwindled to a meek flame. The violent swirl of color inside the crystal ceased its rage and then disappeared altogether. A horrendous shriek from Margaret shook the room. Her arms rose in the air. Her voice, now violent, chanted out a spell, loudly and frantically.
I ran to Luke and Courtney. Marcus was at my side and grabbed my hand. “Together,” he said.
I knew what he was thinking. I grabbed Luke’s hand. Marcus grabbed Courtney’s. Together, we began a transporting spell, but before the second word was out of our mouths, something happened.
The image in front of me flickered ever-so-slightly. I felt different—heavier. The chant was lost. Marcus and I looked at each other, confused. Then we turned to Margaret, who had calmed herself and was smiling once more.
“You see? I am more powerful than you.”
Beyond the smugness, I detected a look of relief in her eyes.
With no fight left in me, I asked, “What just happened?”
“I took you back in time. It is precisely two hours earlier than it was a moment ago.”
“But, you’re still … .” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
“Young and beautiful? Yes, and I always will be now that your fairy blood lives in my veins.”
“I love you.”
I heard Marcus whisper in my ear. Maybe he thought it would be his last words to me. I felt weak. Tears stung my eyes, but I pushed them back.
“How sweet.” Margaret’s voice was edged with sarcasm. “It wasn’t always you who he loved.”
I looked at Marcus. He looked as confused as I felt.
“Well, do you want to tell her, or shall the pleasure me mine?”
“Tell me what?”
“You see, Brooke, before Kalan met Bryn, he met … Cyra.” She hissed the last word out.
I felt as if an arctic wave slapped me in the face, and I gasped loudly.
I heard Marcus’ breathe catch and felt him stiffen at my side.
“Who’s Cyra?” Robyn asked.
I ignored her and glared wide-eyed at Marcus, feeling betrayed in the worst way.
Horror-filled recognition dawned on his face that was quickly replaced with pain. His shoulders fell. “I’m sorry,” he said without looking directly at me.
“Sorry?” Still in shock, I looked back to Margaret and waited for more.
“Kalan and Cyra were in love—”
“No! It was never love,” Marcus said, glaring at Margaret like he would kill her right then and there if he could.
I expected him to deny the charge altogether, but he didn’t. The stitches that had held my heart together the past couple weeks tightened and snapped apart.
“Lust then,” Margaret said with a wave of her hand. “Either way, he belonged to me first.” She looked at me curiously, as if waiting for my reaction.
“Who is Cyra?” Robyn demanded, with growing impatience.
With my eyes fixed to
Margaret, I told Robyn the tale.
“Cyra was Bryn’s older sister—my sister.” I thought back to Wales. There were no clues to their relationship. “She was cast in disgrace from the fairy realm—”
“The fairy what?” Luke interrupted. “Man, this is getting too wacked out for me.”
I winced. I’d completely forgotten they were there.
“Any fairy powers she had were taken from her before her banishment. I see now, how my blood made her beautiful again.”
“If she has fairy blood in her, why did she need yours?” Robyn asked.
“At the moment of banishment, Cyra was given over to the demon world. Not a single drop of fairy blood remained in her body.”
“Wow. She must have been really bad,” Robyn said.
“She was.”
Margaret interrupted. “So now you know who I really am, dear sister … the good one … the one who everyone loved.”
“You killed him. How could you kill Kalan?”
“He loved you. It was a satisfying revenge.”
“You also killed your own sister? How cold-hearted,” Robyn added with disgust.
“Yes, twice, and I’m about to kill her again, then Kalan will be mine once more.” Her smile flaunted her delight.
“That will never happen,” Marcus said. “I’ll die first.”
I swallowed pushing the acid back down my throat.
Margaret laughed darkly. “I won’t allow that.” Her gaze lowered to the floor. “Beth dear, I don’t remember summoning you.”
I looked past her to see Beth standing meekly at the bottom of the stairs.
“You didn’t,” Beth said.
Without warning an ear-piercing shriek cut through the air. Margaret’s face contorted into a horrendous mask of distress. Her back arched. She staggered forward. A network of thin cracks formed in the stone beneath her feet. Like a blip in time, the room altered again. As the power shifted, strength and magic flowed through me once more, lightening me. Margaret spun around to face a trembling Beth. The hilt of a dagger protruded from Margaret’s back. Blood, as black as her robe, cascaded down her back, pooling on the floor.
By the look on everyone’s face, they were all as stunned as I was.
With just a look, Margaret began choking the life from Beth.
Quickly, I regained my senses and turned to Courtney and Luke. “Forget you were ever here.”
“No problem,” Luke said.
With ease, magic flowed through my arms and out the tips of my tingling fingers. With a crackle, the magical binding ropes that restrained my friends loosened and fell to the floor at their feet. With Margaret in distress and engaged in Beth’s demise, it was easy to override her spell.
I called upon all the guardians for aid in sending Courtney and Luke back to Boston. Courtney latched onto Luke’s arm. A few seconds later, they disappeared into thin air.
“I cast a spell on them so they’d forget this night,” Marcus said.
I nodded, unable to look into his eyes just yet.
Margaret was too involved with Beth now to care about Luke and Courtney anymore. Poor Beth, she lay awkwardly on the hard floor, struggling to speak. Her bulging eyes searched the room until they found Marcus. With a gurgled last breath, she mumbled out a word that sounded like, “Father.” After death, her pain-filled eyes stayed wide open.
Marcus and I exchanged looks.
“What did she mean, ‘Father?’” I whispered to him.
Marcus shrugged, looking just as confused and freaked out as I did.
Margaret, oozing hatred, turned back to us. Her beauty was slightly marred by the contortion of pain her face held.
“What did Beth just say?” Marcus demanded.
Margaret’s chest heaved. She staggered toward us, stopping in front of the crystal septagram and with a raspy voice said, “She called you ‘Father.’”
“Why?”
“Because, she is Kalan and Cyra’s love child.”
My mouth fell open. Beside me, I heard Robyn gasp and saw her hand fly to her mouth.
A sharp breath of air expelled from Marcus. “She’s lying!” The loudness of his voice made me look at him. His face muscles tightened. A blue vein was visible under the tanned skin at his temple. I’d never seen him look so angry.
“I do not lie.” Though, Margaret’s shoulders rose up and down in her efforts to breathe, she looked equally as threatening.
“Why does she look so young?” I asked.
“Beth died in Wales when she was young.”
I thought I saw a flash of hurt in her eyes, but I could have mistaken emotional pain for physical.
“How did she die? Was she murdered?” I kept up the interrogation.
“She died because she was part … .” Margaret hesitated.
“Because she was part demon,” I finished for her.
“Yes. Had she been part fairy and not demon, she would have lived, but demons do not spawn well with other races.” As she spoke, the spark was leaving her.
Robyn shuddered. “We have to get out of here,” she said in a rush. She pulled on my arm, but I didn’t budge.
Megan, Sammy and Evan all held defensive stances in front of the stairs.
“I can’t go without the others,” I said to Robyn.
On the other side of me, Marcus was very still, but I felt magic emanate from him.
On the table, Margaret’s dagger trembled then lifted. Quickly, I figured out what he was doing. I stood still and watched him work his magic. His face was an intense mask of concentration. The dagger lifted higher, turned, then hurled toward Margaret, piercing her black heart before she could twist herself away. She had been too weakened by Beth’s attempt at murder to react fast enough. Another ear-piercing shriek split the air. Margaret fell. With a cracking sound, the fissures in the floor traveled to where she now lay. The iron stand toppled and fell. The crystal crashed with it, sending hundreds of shards across the floor.
“That won’t kill her,” Robyn said. “We need fire.”
Evan left Sammy and Megan’s side and lunged for Marcus. Instinctively, I lifted my hand to stop him with a spell.
“No!” Marcus yelled. “I changed him back.”
When Evan reached Marcus, he threw his arms around his brother and hugged him.
“I don’t know what to say,” Evan said.
“We’ll talk later,” Marcus said, patting his back.
While Margaret withered on the floor in obvious agony, I took the hint from Marcus and turned Sammy back to her old self. She ran to me shrieking.
“It’s okay, Sammy, were leaving. Where’s Megan?” I asked, looking around the room.
“She must have taken off,” Marcus said.
“We have to find her,” Robyn said.
“We will,” I said. “But right now we have to see to my sister’s death.”
Margaret was reduced to a weakened heap on the floor. Her bony fingers gripped the hilt of the dagger and pulled it out of her chest. It clanked to the stone. Beside me, I heard Robyn mumble something. The rope Margaret had bound Luke and Courtney with, was now tied tightly around her, thanks to Robyn’s magic.
“Fire,” Robyn said, panicked.
“Come on,” Marcus said, pulling me by the hand to the bottom of the stairs.
Once all of us, excluding Margaret and Beth were in front of the stairs, Marcus, Robyn and I concentrated all our energy on conjuring fire on a stone floor. It wasn’t hard. Almost as soon as we’d begun, a circle of flame surrounded Margaret. Ancient languages I wasn’t familiar with rolled off her tongue in the form of spells and curses. Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard Evan yell over the chaos that he was going to go look for Megan. I was too involved in the spell to stop him.
When we were satisfied the circle of fire was strong enough to hold Margaret, we stopped our chant.
Sammy was huddled next to me clutching my robe tightly with two fists. When I didn’t budge, she yanked on my sleeve. “C’mo
n, Brooke. She can’t escape now.”
“How do we know she’s going to die? Fire kills witches, but how do we know it will kill a demon? And how do we know she won’t come back?” Marcus asked.
“She doesn’t have a soul. She can’t be reincarnated. And, unless she has someone to bring her body back to life and keep her that way, as she did for Beth, she cannot come back,” I said.
“I wonder how she kept Beth alive all these years,” he said.
“Morwenna was probably able to revive Beth and keep her alive because she was part witch.” I emphasized the word ‘witch’ rather harshly, throwing it in his face. Then I looked at Beth’s lifeless body and softened. “That part of her had a soul.” She looked like a child. I wanted to go to her and close her eyes, but she was too close to the flames. Silent tears ran down my cheeks for Beth.
We stayed long enough to watch Margaret’s robe catch fire. After that, I couldn’t watch anymore. Marcus, who didn’t want to leave until she was reduced to a heap of ash, had to be coaxed to leave.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Margaret shrilled out spells and curses as she burned. The balance of power was shifting again. With her use of magic as a last ditch effort to save herself, we couldn’t use ours to whisk ourselves away from the Inn, so we ran. Ear-piercing shrieks chased us through the attic, echoing sharply against the acute pitch of the roof. The sounds of a demon-witch dying were something I was sure I would never forget.
Our feet pounded heavily down the narrow attic stairs and down the hallways. When I came to the main staircase, I paused and watched as smoke and flame billowed out of the attic dormer windows in the painting. Sammy caught my wrist on her way by and yanked me away, practically throwing me off my feet.
We made it to the bottom of the stairs and bolted through the front door. I stopped on the walkway in front of the doorstep to catch my breath. Marcus stopped behind me. Sammy and Robyn didn’t stop running until they were closer to the street. Evan and Megan were still inside somewhere.
I tore my robe off and threw it on the ground.
“Why are you stopping?” Marcus asked, between heavy breaths.
A moment of silence passed between us.