Bitter Demons (17 page)

The rain pouring inside the ritual room quickly doused the witch’s flames, and I tried to run into the darkness. She lifted her hands and I felt my throat constrict. I reached out for something to hold onto, but caught only air. I struggled for breath as my body lifted high into the air. She twisted me around to face her.

I battled to find my focus, but my lungs burned and I couldn’t concentrate. Rain fell across my skin in cold, hard pellets. The old witch stepped toward me. Her hand reached out for me, her index finger stretching toward my necklace. She meant to take it from me. To sever my connection to Aerden. I was helpless to stop her.

A flash of blue light illuminated the darkness, slicing through the witch’s finger, severing it from the rest of her hand. Her fingertip fell to the ground and the witch screamed.

I fell hard to the ground, gasping for breath as her attention turned to the source of the attack. Mary Anne sat up, her hand outstretched, blue light pulsing from her palm. The witch’s face contorted into a mask of pure evil. She brought her palms together and swirled them around, gathering a giant ball of red hot fire in her hands. She reared back and threw the ball at Mary Anne.

The red light streaked across the room.

“No!” I screamed. I lifted my hand into the air on instinct, gripping the fireball with my mind. It stopped inches short of Mary Anne’s face and she scrambled backward.

Realizing I had control of the fire, I quickly threw it back toward the old witch, catching her by surprise. Her robes burst into flame and she thrashed about. With a scream, she fell to the floor and curled into a little ball, her skin charred. Her body trembled slightly, then went still.

I ran over to Mary Anne and put her arm around my shoulder. “Can you stand up?”

“I can try,” she said.

I helped her get onto her feet and I helped her to the top of the stairs. The flames that blocked the entrance were only smoldering now as rain began to fall from the sky.

I heard my name echo against the trees outside. The voice was still some distance away, but my heart danced at the sound. Jackson! I turned toward the direction of Shadowford and saw several figures running through the darkness. Within seconds, Jackson, Zara, Caroline, Meredith and Eloise all came rushing into the circle.

“We felt you,” Caroline said. She was out of breath and leaning on her sister’s arm. “What’s happening?”

I passed Mary Anne off to Eloise who took her and laid her down in the soft wet grass.

Jackson pulled me into his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said. “I think so.”

“What happened?” Meredith said. She stepped toward the entrance to the ritual room.

“Don’t go down there,” I said. “I don’t know if they are still alive down there.” I turned to Jackson. “It was Mary Anne’s family all along. They wanted to control the demon gate. Jackson, they killed my mother.”

“How many?” he asked.

“More than twenty,” I said. I pulled him aside and whispered, “Aerden’s still down there.”

Ignoring my warning, Jackson rushed toward the stairs. I followed him, unsure what we might find. We grabbed hands and descended into the darkness. In the far corner of the room, red eyes glowed in the darkness. I gasped and looked down where I’d left the old witch. She was gone.

The crow screeched and the sound of flapping wings filled the ritual room. A giant explosion of red rolled upward, blowing a hole through the roof. The force of the blast threw us back against the stairs, pieces of rock and dirt pelting our bodies. Jackson grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.

Above ground, the ritual circle was ripped to shreds. Chunks of stone littered the grass. The sound of wings grew louder. I watched as a coven of crows flew up through the hole in the ground and into the dark night.

In the light of day, the damage to the ritual area looked pretty serious. Jackson and I picked through the debris, looking for anything the witches might have left behind. A gaping chasm marred the ritual circle. I stood above the hole, looking down into the destroyed ritual room below.

“Exactly how much of this damage are you responsible for, young lady?” Jackson pinched my arm. I slapped at his hand and laughed.

“Hey, I didn’t do that much,” I said.

Jackson turned toward the marble statue that marked the entrance to the ritual room. “Thank God Aerden got out of that room before that crazy witch blew the top off the place.”

I placed my hand on the cool marble. “I wish he wasn’t trapped inside this statue. If I hadn’t gotten my necklace back in time, I don’t know what would have happened to us.”

Jackson sighed. “Unfortunately, the only way to get him out of the statue permanently is to go through the initiation, which isn’t any better. Worse, actually, in a lot of ways.”

We stood in silence, his words hanging between us. We still hadn’t had a chance to talk about the argument we’d had in the barn that rainy night, but I knew that he’d forgiven me. I still hoped he would be able to open his heart to me, but for now, I was happy just to be close to him. Trust takes time. I understood that better than anyone.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go downstairs.”

The damage was much worse down below. The room was barely recognizable. “Do you think the portal is damaged?” I asked.

We moved toward the center of the room, but the blue stone that held the portal to Jackson’s world was hidden under a stack of large rocks. One by one, I used my magic to move each heavy stone to the side. I stepped to the blue spot on the floor and wiped away the coarse dust. I expected it to be cracked or damaged, but it was exactly the same as before.

“It isn’t even scratched,” I said.

Jackson leaned over and picked something from the rubble. A silver cup with a ruby stone. Blood still stained the lip. “What’s this?” he asked.

I shuddered. “Destroy that,” I said.

With one hand, Jackson crushed the metal cup into a tiny ball.

“Hey, if you have that kind of strength, you should have been helping me move these rocks,” I teased.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. Standing there with the sun shining down on him, he looked so gorgeous it took my breath away.

Caroline wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said. The black soul stone around her neck glittered in the sunlight. Zara’s mother had reversed the spell so that Caroline’s power flowed back into her. “I feel like we’re practically sisters now.”

I smiled. It was good to see her gaining strength.

Meredith waved from inside the car, obviously ready to go home.

“Thanks for everything,” Eloise said, taking my hand in hers. “You’re a very special girl, Harper. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“Thanks,” I said. I waved as they climbed into their car and drove off down the long, tree-lined driveway.

Zara stood on the porch, waving as she lounged in the swing.

I joined her, enjoying an unusually warm fall afternoon. “Will you and your mother be staying much longer?” I asked.

“Mother still has some work to do here in town,” she said. “She’s interviewing Mary Anne to get information about her family and where they live. Her trackers are already looking for them in the woods, though, and I imagine it won’t take them too long to locate the coven. It’s amazing they remained hidden for so long.”

“They spent a hundred years focusing on vengeance,” I said. “I don’t think this is over yet.”

“Not over,” she said. “But resting.”

Rest. I liked the sound of that word. After everything I’d been through, I was ready for some peace and quiet. Some rest.

“Mother also thinks that your training here is pathetic,” Zara said. “She thinks a proper trainer should be brought in. Someone who can really whip you into shape. The Order here in Peachville has survived so long without a Prima, they’ve gotten used to being on their own. It’s time someone taught you how to be a real leader.”

I cringed as I pictured spending my days with some old witch who would bark orders at me and make me memorize useless spells.

“That’s why I’ll be moving into a bedroom just down the hall from you,” she said.

I opened my mouth in surprise. “You?” I asked.

She smiled. “Your official training begins next week.”

Jackson sat at the base of the large stone statue, drawing.

I laughed and walked over to him. “Good morning,” I said.

He smiled up at me. He’d been drawing a simple sketch of the front of the high school building. “Morning,” he said.

I squinted up at the stone statue. “Is this really what you look like?”

He set his drawing aside and stood up. He brought his finger to his chin, studying the demon statue’s features. “What? Not sexy enough for you?”

I laughed and ran my hand along the cool stone. A large crack had spread up the side of the demon’s body, and I ran my finger along the rift. “Oh no,” I said. “You’re broken.”

Jackson placed his hand over mine. I felt a rush of energy flow through me, and I gasped. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. So pure and perfectly focused. The crack disappeared from view, hidden deep inside the stone.

I looked at him over my shoulder, his piercing green eyes full of mischief.

“No,” he said. The warmth of his breath on my cheek made me shiver. “I’m finally whole.”