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Cora had
noticed that Jack had been very quiet since Alastair and the new
boy, Quinn, had left. She’d felt the way he’d bristled as Quinn
entered the room. He’d probably thought he’d covered it up, but
she’d noticed it. It made her nervous. His feelings had a knock on
effect on hers. If he was feeling out of sorts, then she felt the
same way. What did Jack see in Quinn that made him feel so
tense?

Cora looked at
Tabitha and tried to hold back a giggle. Tabitha was the only thing
making this situation more light hearted. Cora had convinced
Tabitha that wearing her robe in Edinburgh would make her stand
out. So with help from the fashion guru, Ember, they had
transformed Tabitha. Tabitha now wore normal, commoner, clothes.
Tabitha was wearing figure hugging jeans, yes, Cora couldn’t
believe it, and the annoying thing was, Tabitha looked great in
them. Ember had finished the look with a sky blue jumper that
brought out the leaf green of Tabitha’s eyes. The white puffer
jacket that looked great on Ember made Tabitha look like she was
struggling to breathe, and she was walking funny.

Cora grinned
at Tabitha, which received a playful scowl.

“
So, where are
we heading?” Ayden asked.

Cora pulled
out her map, the one Tavish had given her. “Well according to the
map, that street,” she pointed ahead, “is the main shopping bit,
it's called Princes Street-”

“
That
construction mess is the main shopping bit,” Ember asked. Ember was
no doubt shocked because it was hardly appealing.

Cora laughed.
“Yep, but, if we turn around here and walk across a bridge we can
make our way to the Royal Mile, I think that goes to the castle. It
looks like it does from the map.”

She held the
map out and tried to run her finger along the thin, long strip that
was a street. She was sure they would find the places they wanted
to visit eventually. Plus getting lost was always fun.

Everyone
nodded and followed her and Jack. Jack had his arm around her
shoulders, snuggling her closer to him. Ember and Tabitha walked
behind them, the two of them looked like walking fashion models.
The three men followed up the rear.

After a good
brisk walk she already felt warmer. So much warmer that her nose
was threatening to leak. She sniffed and tried to hold back the
runny goo.

“
Here.” Ember
passed her a tissue.

She smiled and
broke the tissue in two, and then stuffed it up her nostrils. Jack
snorted and shook his head. “What? It stops the running,” she
laughed.

“
And I have to
say, you look beautiful with the tissues sticking out!”

She nudged him
in the ribs and pulled out the tissue, wiping her nose properly. It
felt good to laugh, to just forget everything, even if that only
lasted for a second.

They reached
the busy street and stood in front of a church. The church was on
the map. It was one of those tourist maps that had cheesy pictures
on them, but it helped. After looking at the map and deciding they
were in the right place, she put it away. It surprised her that
this street was so busy. It was freezing yet there were people
everywhere.

As they made
headway up the long street, she could see another church, one that
was stood on its own surrounded by faded cobbles. The dome of the
tower was tall. Several spikes protruded out, making it look
gothic. Scottish people, or architects, must like this gothic look,
they used it often. Patterned skirts and red hats attached to
ginger wigs spilled out of the shops as loud bagpipe music enticed
the tourist to spend money.

Ayden stopped
and picked up a hat, pulling it on his head. She laughed as he
posed in it. He looked ridiculous, but she loved that he was
smiling and his fun side was peeking out after what they’d been
through. She'd missed it.

“
A'm buying
this, wee lassie,” Ayden boomed, trying to imitate
Alastair.

Ayden
disappeared into the shop, leaving her giggling. Ember was
fingering a red patterned skirt.

“
Can women
wear kilts?” Ember asked.

“
Yes, I
believe they can. However, it is more of a male tradition.” Tabitha
said as she shifted uncomfortably in the white puffer coat. “How do
you cope with this, Ember?”

“
It’s a coat,
Tab, you wear it, it keeps you warm. There is no amount of coping
needed.”

“
Huh,” Tabitha
said whilst trying to breathe in.

Cora smothered
a giggle.

A woman
screamed behind them, making her jump. Jack's grip tightened around
her as they turned to look at what was causing the commotion next
to the gothic looking church. A woman, the screamer, was surrounded
by a group of people. Cora assumed they were people underneath the
piles of coats, scarves and hats. Several arms held cameras up in
the air trying to capture the moment, the image of the strange
looking woman. The woman was wearing black tights that had large
holes in them. They were coupled with big boots that were laced up
the front and a long billowing cape. Cora assumed the woman was
trying to pass as a witch. If Tabitha had worn her robes, the group
of tourists would have pointed their cameras in her
direction.

The group of
people listened as the woman boomed about the history of Edinburgh.
Her voice grew theatrically louder as she told her small crowd
about the many ghosts and witches that continued to haunt the
residents of Edinburgh. Cora looked at Jack who was grinning like
an idiot. Witches, they could never get away from that topic of
conversation. It would make the groups day if only they knew that
witches were stood mere feet behind them.

As the group
moved away following the strange woman, Cora caught sight of a big
board that advertised the talk to be a ghost walk around a
graveyard.

“
We don't need
to go finding danger. For some bloody unknown reason, the danger
comes looking for us,” Jack grumbled.

Jack was
right. Cora wasn't going to invoke the ghosts and make them angrier
than they already were. She had enough to deal with. Thinking of
the meeting tomorrow made her stomach somersault.

“
Awrite, are
we ready taaaaa get gaun,” Ayden shouted.

“
Ayden, your
Scottish accent is really bad. Stop,” she laughed at the look of
mock horror on his face.

The wig
remained proudly on his head as they walked towards the
castle.

Even though
her coven appeared to be in good spirits, Cora knew that each of
them buried their nerves and reservations about what would happen
tomorrow. She knew one thing for definite about tomorrow. Her coven
would be there for her. Cora knew this because they had faced death
once before. She knew they would do it again, but at what cost?
Thinking about the cost made her stomach touch her toes. She really
didn't want to lose anyone else.

Jack pulled
her closer, no doubt sensing her nerves. She couldn't keep anything
from him, and she loved that about him. He kissed her forehead and
squeezed her hand as they headed towards people, the high walls and
dominating towers of the castle.

10

5AM
START

They entered
the quiet, beautifully lit reception area a little before 5am. It
was dead here. There wasn’t a soul mad enough to be in here, well,
apart from the receptionist who was sat quietly tapping on her
keyboard behind her desk.

Cora wasn't
feeling too good. Her night’s sleep had been restless and long. Her
stomach was rolling around at the top of her chest. Her hands were
shaking, and her heart was flapping around like a mad man
imprisoned in a very small cage. She feared this meeting wasn’t
going to have a good outcome. At the moment, nothing in her life
did. Jack rubbed her hand soothingly. It helped that he was with
her. It always helped.

Huffing out a
nervous breath, she looked at her group. Ayden, Eli and Clay were
standing in front of her watching the front door. Eli showed some
signs of his nerves. The tap of his leg and his nervous lip biting
were major signs when it came to Eli. Ayden and Clay, however,
appeared to be calm and collected, taking this whole thing in their
stride.

Tabitha and
Ember were deep in serious conversation. Cora wasn’t going to ask
them to divulge the details, they would probably make her more
nervous. Eli coughed which brought her attention, not to him, but
to the door. Alastair strolled in, closely followed by Tavish, the
man from the station. Tavish was still wearing the long black coat
that lapped at his black boots.

“
Awrite, time
tae gae. Follow me.”

Cora remained
rooted to the spot. That was it? Alastair thought he could just
walk in and then tell them where to go? She could barely understand
him at times, it was like a different language, but right now she
needed an explanation. Cora just hoped she could understand
it.

“
Where exactly
are we going?” she asked, her anger was bubbling up to the surface
with their constant demands.

Alastair
turned around, his blue eyes glared at her angrily. The look
reminded her of a snake, one it would give to an intruder before it
struck. She felt her element snap inside her. He wasn’t used to
being questioned. Good.

She stood
straighter and felt Jack squeeze her hand. That squeeze wasn't
telling her to back down. It was telling her to carry on, telling
her that Jack would be here to support her, no matter what. Tavish
stood still, his legs with his spread, balancing his weight. Cora
knew the stance. She’d made that same move when facing the
Corenthio Coven. He was prepared for an attack.

“
It's a
meiting wi' all the covens.”

“
Which
covens?”

“
Whit's wi'
all the questions, lassie?” His question had more of a bite to
it.

“
I have every
right to ask you questions. Firstly, you drag me from my home and
tell me to get on a train for several hours and come to another
part of the country. Then you drop me and my coven into a hotel and
don’t tell us anything, other than the fact that we are needed at a
meeting at this ungodly hour. I want answers.”

“
Whit if A
dannae wannae give them?”

“
Then I will
walk out of this hotel, get the first train home and leave.” Cora
watched him battle with his anger.

“
Yer ar’
annoyin’ an rude!” he spat, spittle actually left his
lips.

“
That is rich
coming from you,” Cora returned. “I suggest that you take a good
long look in a mirror because you don't have any manners
whatsoever. You need to learn to speak to people properly rather
than barking instructions at them.”

“
A huv every
reight tae instruct yer, yer cannae dae nothin’ aboot
it.”

She accepted
the challenge by stepping closer towards him. She could do
something about it, and she would. Alastair stepped towards her and
then all hell broke loose.

Jack, Ayden,
Eli and Clay also stepped into Alastair's path. Tavish made the
first move. He’d thrown himself into Ayden's body, a nasty scowl
making his features ugly. Jack lifted Tavish with a flick of his
hand, pushing him back. Heat instantly overwhelmed her as Tabitha
stepped into the chaos. Whilst all of this was happening, the
receptionist continued tapping away on her computer,
oblivious.

“
Enough! The
meiting will be clear when yer get there. A don't huv tae explain
anything now.”

“
I think you
do. We do not have to leave with you,” Tabitha stated.

Damn it. Cora
held her fists by her sides. They were already facing problems, and
they hadn't even made it to the meeting yet. Alastair sighed and
shot her a malevolent look. She gave him one back for good measure.
He had no right to decide what they were going to do, or where they
had to be. If he didn't like it, tough shit.

“
The meiting
will decide whit happens wi' the wee lassie. There will be nae
deaths, but there are things that need tae be sorted.
Come.”

Alastair
turned towards the exit before anything else could occur. Tavish
gave them one last glance over his shoulder before following
Alastair.

They watched
them leave the hotel before turning to each other. Alastair should
have told them that at the beginning. Withholding information gave
him too much power. Something Cora didn’t like. Cora knew they had
no other option, and she was thankful when Tabitha voiced her own
thoughts before she had to.

“
We have to
go,” Tabitha spoke. “Let us see what this ridiculous meeting is
about.”

The night
continued to push back the appearance of day as they stomped their
way behind Alastair. February winds nipped at their shivering
bodies. The trees surrounding them moaned, their thick branches
swaying dangerously in the wind. Her coven was in the gardens Cora
had seen yesterday from their bedroom window. The castle, dormant
and quiet on its hill, was illuminated by a dull orange glow. She
held back a shiver. The image of the creepy castle wasn’t
helping.