Magick (Book 3 in the Coven Series) (14 page)

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I was a total dork.”

“You were not,” I say as I swat her forearm. “Don’t be silly.”

“I just basically invited myself out with him. Yeah, that didn’t seem desperate.” She sighs and shoves her hands in her coat pockets.

“Um, Piper, I don’t think he minded.”

She glances at me. “You don’t think he thought I was too pushy?”

“Honey, you’ve been living down in that compound too long. That was totally not what Rule was thinking.”

She smiles nervously. “When did you decide to play matchmaker?”

“That night you were studying for your physics test, when you said that your dating options were limited. I remembered hearing Rule say something similar.” I don’t tell her about Rule’s initial crush on me or about the one kiss we shared.

We cross the street and head for the main shopping district. Before we reach it, Piper slows beside me then stops. When I pause and glance back at her, she’s looking up at a small Catholic church. “You mind if we go in?”

I’m surprised, but I shrug. “Sure.”

We climb the steps to St. Anthony’s front door, and Piper opens it. “I like to come here sometimes to just sit and think when it’s empty,” she says. “I’ve always thought it was beautiful and peaceful.”

I look at the small sanctuary and the polished wood pews. There is a sort of peace about the place, even more so when the sun escapes from behind the clouds and sends golden rays streaming through the stained-glass windows.

“Is something bothering you?” I ask.

She glances toward the front. “You mean other than a witch war on the horizon?”

“Yeah, other than that little thing.”

She shakes her head once. “No. But I thought you might like it here.”

I’m confused for a moment before understanding dawns.

“I see your regret sometimes, even when you don’t think you’re showing any outward sign,” Piper says. “How much it eats away at you. But you’re not the first person to make a mistake, even a huge one.”

I swallow past what feels like a jagged rock in my throat as Piper turns and walks toward the pews. She slides into one and stares forward. I turn away for a moment but find myself facing a plaque on the wall about St. Anthony. I step closer and read it. My breath catches when I see that he’s the Patron Saint of Lost Things. A chill skitters down my back as I think of that lost page of the Beginning Book.

With a deep breath, I walk deeper into the sanctuary and slip into the pew on the opposite side of the aisle from Piper. I close my eyes and allow myself to think back to that night I killed Barrow, think back over every moment, every decision, every discharge of my magic into him. I bite my lip when I feel it tremble. I don’t lie to myself that I killed a pristine soul without guilt, but I release the tight grip I have on mine. In my mind, I say that I’m sorry to whoever is listening. God, Fate, whomever. Maybe all of them.

I half expect to feel the darkness well up inside me despite the two bracelets, but I don’t. I sit there long enough that the sun shifts and the warmth coming through the window touches my face. Maybe it’s my imagination, but it feels like a caress. It soaks down into me, illuminating places that have been dark a long time. Some for my entire life. I feel lighter than I ever have, even when I was full of white witch power atop the Shiprock.

When I finally open my eyes, Piper is still in the other pew. “I feel better,” I say. “Thank you.”

She smiles without looking at me. “Sometimes it’s just good to go somewhere quiet without distractions and just
be
, ya know?”

“Yeah.” I return my attention to the front. St. Anthony’s isn’t as fancy as some of the huge Catholic churches I’ve visited on my own, but I like it because of that. After life in a dark coven, I’m all for a new life of simplicity.

We both seem to sense that it’s time to go. Piper stands a moment before I do, and we head out of the church. Once outside, we resume our trek through the winter air toward the shops in the middle of town. We’ve just crossed back over the street when I freeze. I stare ahead of us for a split second before I grab Piper and pull her into an alcove next to a building.

“What—” she starts before she sees me holding my finger up to my lips.

I guide her behind me and press my back against the side of the building while trying to get my breathing under control. I peek around the corner. Yep, just as I feared. I jerk my head back so he won’t see me.

“What is going on? Is it another hunter?” Piper asks softly.

“You could say that. Only this one is a witch.” I grab her hand. “We’ve got to get out of here, and fast. I’ll explain later.” After taking a deep breath, I dare to poke my head out again and see our really big problem is looking the other way. Without giving Piper any warning, I pull her out after me and we race back toward the church then past it. We’re several blocks away before I stop and pull out my phone and dial Egan.

“Please tell me you need me to do something manly,” he says when he picks up. “I’m in shopping hell here.”

I hear Toni laugh in the background. “Get Toni and Keller and get to the Jeep as fast as you can. Then come pick up Piper and me. We’re down by The House of Seven Gables.”

“What’s wrong?” he asks, but I can tell he’s already ushering Toni out of whatever store they’re in.

“I just saw Sean.”

“Sean who?”

“My cousin.” I glance up in time to see Piper’s eyes widen.

“Oh, hell. Be there in a couple of minutes. Make sure he doesn’t see you.”

“He’s on the mall, so you’re in more danger than us at the moment.”

Egan curses again before hanging up.

Even though I don’t think Sean saw us, I lead the way off the sidewalk onto the property for the famous House of Seven Gables.

“Do you think the rest of your family is here?” Piper asks as she keeps darting glances at the street.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I don’t sense them. Plus, Sean typically doesn’t need backup.”

I recognize the sound of an approaching engine and look past Piper just in time to see Egan screech to a halt at the curb. “Come on.” We hurry toward the Jeep and climb in the back. My heart thumps hard against my chest when I realize Keller isn’t inside.

“He didn’t answer his phone,” Egan says. “But we’re going back.”

Toni reaches back and grasps my hand. “We’ll find him.”

“Hurry.” My heart nearly pounds out of my chest as Egan races back toward the center of town. I dig out my phone just as Egan pulls over on the side of Essex Street, giving us a view down the pedestrian mall.

“Hey, you’re not spying on my shopping, are you?” Keller asks when he answers. I see him come out of a shop just as I spot Sean in the middle of the mall maybe three stores down.

“Get out of there now,” I say, trying not to think about what will happen if Sean figures out he has a hunter in his sights. “Don’t look behind you. Don’t ask questions. Just cut through to the next street on your left.”

Keller doesn’t do anything to draw attention to himself like suddenly bolting. Egan follows suit by easing away from the curb and turning onto the street parallel to the mall.

I see Keller and point out the windshield. “There he is.”

Egan pulls up and scoots his seat forward so Keller can scramble into the back. He’s not even buckled in before Egan takes off.

“No speeding,” I say. We’ve got to get back to the safety of the Bane’s compound. It’s not that I’d be afraid of taking on Sean myself. Well, not a lot anyway. But I’m wearing two harness bracelets, and I’ve got to bring my vast powers totally under control before I engage in a major altercation. I also can’t risk a fight when my friends are with me out in the open, when we’re not ready, when I’ve got both the Beginning and Ending books with me.

“What’s going on?” Keller asks.

Before I answer, I pull him into my arms. “I saw my cousin, Sean,” I say, then pull back. “He’s my family’s enforcer.”

“Enforcer?” Piper says. “That sounds like something from the mob.”

“Same thing.” I grip Keller’s hand. “He’s the equivalent of our hit man.”

“They must have figured out Barrow didn’t succeed when they didn’t hear from him,” Egan says as he makes the turn onto the road that leads to the compound.

“And they sent an enforcer ahead to verify you’re here before they converge,” Keller says.

“I get the feeling things are about to start getting interesting,” Egan says.

Not the word I’d use, but I know what he means. The days of gradually trying to master my magic are over.

She looks like she’s received a good electrical jolt. “Are these what I think they are?”

“Yes. Egan and I have had the Beginning Book since he arrived in North Carolina. We found the Ending Book here in Salem.”

Sarah meets my gaze. “The Latimers had it this whole time?”

I nod. “There’s one not-so-small problem, though. There’s a page missing from the Beginning Book, and my gut tells me that it’s a very important page.”

“And there’s the little fact that Jax is the only person who can read the Ending Book,” Egan adds.

Sarah opens the Ending Book and flips through a few pages. “You can read this?”

“Yes.”

“What does it say?”

“That a white witch is the only thing that can bring down the covens.”

Sarah closes the book and settles her gaze on me. “Why didn’t you tell me about these before?”

“Because I don’t trust easily, and I’ve never been totally sure if you’re telling me everything. If there had been anything in them that you didn’t seem to already know, maybe I would have made a different decision.”

“So why reveal them to me now?”

“Because I’m grasping at straws here, and crap just got very real.”

“I shouldn’t have let you all leave.”

“You needed to know I’d pass the test, right?”

Sarah meets my eyes, and I think I see respect for my deductive skills there.

“And it’s good that we know Sean’s here,” I say. “If the covens are willing to send a dark witch back to Salem after all this time, something is definitely up. And I have to bring the white witch to full realization, controlled and sustainable.”

“I agree.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

Sarah stands. She places her hands on the Beginning and Ending books. “May I put these in a safe place?”