Lonely Souls (18 page)

“What about supplies?” I asked.

“We’ll take as much as we can, but it’s not like we can’t go in to town when we run out of things, Triss.” He was in the take-charge mode again.

“The chamomile tea was delicious, but I think it’s time I give us all a little something with some punch,” I said, popping up from my chair.

“Triss! Get down!” Logan yelled.

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I fell flat against the floor, hitting my chin with a thud.

“What’s going on?” I screamed at the same time I heard a loud thump on the window.

He was on the floor, crawling toward me, and I looked behind me over at the window where I saw flames shooting up from one of the shrubs.

“I don’t understand!” I whispered, as he pulled me through the study.

My aunt and Ellsy came running down the hall.

“Are you okay?” my aunt asked as I stood up.

“I’ve got to go put that out. I can’t let the house catch on fire,” I hollered, running toward the front door.

“No, Triss!” Logan yelled, following right behind me.

I didn’t care what was waiting for me outside. I wasn’t going to lose the place my mom and I called home. I wasn’t going to be scared away. The fury was like nothing I’d ever felt before. What was going on in my world?

I swung open the door to see some members from the Witch Avenue Coven yelling and screaming at me. Logan darted by me to go take care of the fire in the bushes. Ellsy and my aunt stepped outside, placing their hands on me for support.

“Get out of here!” a yell came at me.

“You’re bringing nothing but trouble to our coven,” another one hollered.

“You aren’t welcome,” a voice I recognized spoke, “ever.” The crowd parted and Kyle, who was just at the receiving ceremony with me stood in front of me, staring me down.

The anger was filling every part of my body, but I wasn’t going to give them what they wanted. I knew Logan could probably take care of them all in one fell swoop, and I wasn’t speaking in terms of magic, but he was better than that and so was I.

Logan had put out the fire in the bush and came to stand next to me. His eyes were blazing, but I wanted to handle this. I took a step forward.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I spoke to the group. “It’s always interesting to see what fear does to people. My mom constantly told me that you’d find out the true character of someone when they are faced with difficulties. Some rise above it all, and others get lost along the way. I’m glad you all made it obvious to me which bucket you fell in. It makes my decisions that much easier. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have absolutely no interest in your games, and you don’t have to lose any night’s sleep over whether I’ll be back to the Witch Avenue Coven. I decided the moment not one of you stepped forward to help today at the ceremony that I no longer belonged with what you represented. I think once I find my mom, she’ll agree. Now please get off of my property before I call the authorities.”

There was so much more I wanted to say. I wanted to scream at them all and let them know that they were cowards, and that they should have been helping me find my mom not bury her. But it would fall on deaf ears because they didn’t care. I hoped someday that the complexion of the Witch Avenue Order would change, but right now it wasn’t anything that I wanted to be associated with. I had no idea if they were part of my mom’s disappearance or not. I hoped not, but nothing seemed right in the world I knew and loved. I turned around and followed Ellsy and my aunt inside, with Logan staying behind a footstep to see me in. I thought I heard him uttering something, but when I turned around to look at him, silence fell and his lips were not moving, but his eyes were filled with an evil rascality that filled me with joy.

He closed the door, and my aunt and Ellsy went scurrying to the kitchen, undoubtedly to calm each other down and figure out how best to handle things. Little did they know, Logan and I already knew what we were up to.

“You didn’t cast a spell on them, did you?” I whispered, trying to squash down my delight.

He bent down to my ear and gently moved my hair back, his finger gliding lightly to my shoulder.

“Of course not,” he murmured, and the feeling that was getting more and more difficult to ignore spread through my system. I stood back to admonish him, but his heavenly blue eyes were filled with such mischief that I couldn’t do it. Instead, he pulled me to the front window to look out at the group disbanding.

“What did you do?” I squealed, unable to hide my giddiness.

“Nothing dangerous, just a little fun,” he laughed. “For us, anyway.”

Outside I saw the same group of people who were only minutes before throwing insults and threats and lighting our vegetation on fire, completely naked scattering to their cars as fast as they could make it. It wasn’t a pretty sight, yet it was one of the most spectacular events that I had ever seen. I could get used to this part of magic that Logan seemed adept at providing. I fell on my knees with laughter, and Logan followed, wrapping his arms around me, squeezing me tight.

“Do you approve, Miss Spires?” His voice sent chills through me, and I let myself enjoy it this one time.

“More than you could ever know.” My laughter finally subsiding, I allowed myself to be held by Logan as I watched the cars speed away in several different directions. We weren’t supposed to do spells on unwilling participants unless there was a reason like protecting oneself or prohibiting something dangerous, but I couldn’t see how this one time would hurt anything. They deserved it.

“Things never change,” I said slyly.

“Okay for you to say it, huh?” Logan asked, letting his arms relax around me.

“Remember when we were at recess and that girl pushed me down to the ground at the tetherball station, and you swooped in all superhero like and bonked her on the head with the tetherball?” I asked, trying to ignore the desire that was swirling deep inside me.

“Yeah? he asked.

“Well, she deserved it too, and I’m not sure I ever told you thank you.” I spun around on my knees, not realizing just how close that made us. His lips were only inches from mine, and I never meant for it to happen.

“Triss,” his voice low and his lips moving slowly as he spoke every word, “you are very welcome.”

His finger traced my arm gently as he brought me in close, and I shut my eyes to regroup only to feel the softness of his lips touch down on mine. I was overwhelmed with the emotions that his hand trailing along my spine left in its wake. Backing away, I was paralyzed with fear. I was leading him on, leading myself on, really, and I didn’t think I could go through losing him because he would certainly realize that I’m a mess. It wouldn’t be fair to him or myself. I pulled back quickly.

“Triss,” he breathed, touching my chin softly, “don’t overthink things. Don’t become a part of the Anima Sola.”

His voice stirred all the emotions up that I was fighting to keep down. Things were so natural, but it wasn’t the time.

“What if I’m not enough?” I whispered.

“You’re more than enough. You’re everything. You’re trying to keep those walls up, Triss, but I won’t let you become a Lonely Soul,” his breath floating over my skin, my soul yearning for his.

He slowly tipped my chin up, his lips finding mine once more, and I was completely at his mercy. The electricity racing between us was intensifying with every new kiss shared between us. His mouth parted gently on mine as I wrapped my hand around his neck, momentarily allowing myself to drift away from the grief I’d been swallowed up in, not wanting the innocence of this moment to ever leave. In this world, everything was the way it should be. But I knew this world didn’t truly exist, and once his lips left mine, the bubble would burst and I’d be dropped back into my harsh reality once more.

Chapter 17

Standing outside the covenstead, only hours after the attack inside these walls and the protest at my house, I was filled with dread from the thought of going back in the depths of this building, but I hoped the library would hold some of the answers that I was looking for. We parked the car a few blocks away so it wouldn’t be seen sitting in the parking lot at this hour. It was a little after midnight, and the evening hours brought wind and colder temperatures, and I couldn’t stop shivering. I wasn’t sure if it was the temperature or my anxiety level over getting caught that was causing my reaction. The parking lot was completely empty, but the fear inside me only grew by the second. Logan was going to keep watch, and nothing should happen, but nothing ever seemed to work out as planned. If we were leaving in the morning then I needed to get this done because I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be gone.

“Looks like they must have canceled their Litha celebrations,” I said sarcastically.

“They knew they couldn’t possibly purge all the evil in time and the gods would be mad,” he said, barely joking.

“Well, here goes nothing,” I sighed, looking over at Logan. “What more could possibly go wrong for the day?”

“I’ll be in the hallway if anything happens,” he replied, grabbing my hand. “Let’s get it over with.”

“
Illuminati
,” I whispered, flashing my wand quickly allowing a subtle glow to radiate from the tip.

“You know more than you let on, don’t you?” he asked wryly.

“Maybe,” I responded innocently. I couldn’t help but smile as I walked through the same doors that earlier were blasted open by Logan stopping the Lonely Soul from attacking me. I was trying to do my best to downplay how frightened I was. The flowers that had been displayed so artistically for the ceremony had now been taken down. There were a few scorch marks in the carpet by the looks of it. My wand didn’t give off that much light, but I could see that there was some damage that the coven would have to get fixed beyond the scorch marks.

“If I get blown on my butt, we’ve got to get out of here as fast as we can. They’ll be notified,” I whispered.

“Gotcha,” he said, quickly squeezing my hand before releasing it. My mind flashed back to the kiss that Logan and I shared earlier in the evening, and I wondered if there was any hope of maintaining a platonic relationship with him, not that I wanted to. But having him stand in the hall worried me. I wanted him to be safe.

Logan went over to the hallway where the sitting rooms were located. He would be able to see my entry into the library perfectly from this location as well as all the entrances into the building.

I walked over to the library entrance, tapping the lock and reciting my chant, releasing the lock immediately.

“Step one was a success,” I whispered to myself.

Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Logan’s eyes taking in everything I was doing. He smiled and nodded at me, giving me that last little oomph I needed.

Taking a deep breath in, I placed my left foot forward through the door and walked right through it. A little jolt of electricity ran through me, but it was probably from my nerves. I made it inside. I didn’t get thrown out. Logan was right. The process had been completed during the ceremony before the interruption. Like it or not, I was part of this coven.

Looking around the library, I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was an extraordinary room. Bookshelves were wrapped around the walls from floor to ceiling with rolling ladders just begging for me to climb and explore the highest of shelves. The colorful book spines lined up shelf after shelf rivaled most pieces of art that I’d seen, and I wasn’t being biased because I loved books so much. There were deep greens to royal blues, standing next to the brightest reds and palest ivories pleading with me to take them off the shelf and explore the hundreds of years in rich history our coven had to offer.

I wished Logan could be in here with me to witness the multitude of books. In the far corner, there was a spiral staircase leading up to what looked like a loft. I could spend months in here, and yet I had to figure out how to find everything I needed in less than an hour.

“Stay focused, Triss,” I commanded to myself.

My phone buzzed and I about jumped out of my skin. It was Logan congratulating me on making it through the doorway. The message brought a smile to my lips. I liked having him involved.

The large, cherry wood workbench seemed like the perfect place to make a home base while I attempted to figure out where to begin my search. I took the hand scanner, notebook, and my mom’s planner out of the bag that I had stuffed everything in so hurriedly back at home. I had the surnames of our ancestors written in the notebook, along with some spells that I had heard my mom speak of over the years that I wanted to try to find.

I pushed the wand into the front pocket of my jeans with the wand’s tip exposed, letting the light escape, so I could use both hands on my quest for answers. Scanning the shelves quickly, I tried to figure out how things were organized. It looked like the Dewey Decimal System had no jurisdiction in this library. The books were sorted into alphabetized groupings, but I had no idea what the groupings were. Feeling like time might not be on my side, I ran quickly to the table and grabbed the scanner and notebook.

I certainly hoped my spell for searching out answers was going to work in this room. All I could do was try.

With the tip of my wand still glowing, I recited my spell not sure anything was going to happen.

“
Quaerendo familia invenietis
,” I commanded, scanning the room, coming up empty-handed.

“
Quaerendo genetix invenietis
,” I whispered, changing it slightly.

Four books to my left shoved themselves off the shelf, falling to the floor with a thud. Excitement spread through me as I realized I had just found the jackpot, our families little section.

I bent over and picked up the first book that was on the ground, scanning the pages, completely mesmerized as I read spell after spell. I picked up the other three books and carried them over the table to begin trying to scan the important pages, but I was feeling as if they were all of value.