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“
They never go
to meetings. They never work together,” Evelyn
confirmed.

“
So, how do we
find them?” Dillon asked.

“
I could scry?”
Lorna offered, “but I would need an item from their coven room or
from them personally.”

Sometimes Cora
forgot about the coven members. They were so quiet; they let their
leaders do the talking.

“
I don’t
believe they have a coven room.”

Which coven
didn’t have an area to hold meetings? This whole thing was just
strange. If things progressed and Cora was put in charge, then she
would make sure things changed.

“
Actually, I
can help with that,” Kayla spoke up.

“
How?”

“
Well, one of
their coven members has an attachment to earth, I could call
him...”

Clay’s
eyebrows rose in question. This made Cora query his thoughts. When
earth elements were mentioned, it made her think of Clio. Was this
something Clio could do? Why was Clay shocked? Because Cora knew
Clay, and that was his shocked face. Cora hated that she never had
the time to get to know Clio well enough to know this. The
Corenthio Coven had taken that away from her. “Okay, give it a
shot,” Cora told her, realising they were waiting for her to
answer.

Kayla stood up
and focused on the floor. She knelt down and created a circle with
her finger. As she stood, the room stilled. A tornado of sand and
dirt formed in the circle. It grew until it pushed on the
boundaries.

A man started
to appear in the sand. His features were grainy at best, but she
could see him. The sand that made up his mouth moved and then the
sound reached them.

“
What the hell
is this?”

That was one
hell of a trick.

“
Are you
James?” Kayla asked.

“
Yes, who are
you?”

Kayla stepped
back and allowed Cora to speak. “I will be the leader of all covens
once this baby is born. I assume you’ve heard of me?”

James looked
over her. “Yes. You have quite the reputation amongst our
kind.”

Cora didn’t
know what to say to that. She didn’t like the idea of being some
sort of representative, despite the fact she would be the leader of
all the covens. Knowing that witches she’d never met, knew about
her, it made her feel sick with nerves. She hated being the centre
of attention.

“
We need your
help,” Tabitha asked James, bringing Cora out of her mental
turmoil.

Jack shot her
a look, one that asked if she was okay. Cora nodded, shaking her
head to rid the cloud that had descended.

“
Tabitha
Preston, what may I do for you?”

Cora saw the
confusion brush across Tabitha’s face. She hadn’t met this man, yet
he seemed to know about them. It wasn’t only Cora who found this
new celebrity status strange.

“
We need help
tracking Adanna.”

The tornado
continued to swirl as James looked at Tabitha. “I can’t help you
with that.”

“
We realise
that you do not speak with each other, but we really need your
help.”

“
I understand
that you find yourself in a predicament. However, I cannot help
you.”

“
Why?” Cora
asked, holding back the irritation.

“
I can’t help
you because she is dead.”

29

WHAT PLAN?

The shock from
this confession left the entire group staring at the person
swirling in the tornado. Cora felt the hope, that gleaming ball of
sunshine, fall out of her chest.

What would
come of their plan now?

“
How did she
die?” Ciaran asked, breaking the silence.

James shifted
his footing and the sand moved with the motion. “I don’t
know.”

“
How can you
not know what has come of your coven member?” Ember asked,
perplexed.

“
We aren’t what
you would call a close knit coven.”

“
So, how do you
know she is dead? You haven’t seen the proof, she could be
alive.”

“
We are nearing
one hundred years and there has been no sighting of
her...”

“
You must have
some idea how she died?” Tabitha insisted.

“
You heard
rumours...” James shrugged. “Fire... battles...Commoners... but we
never knew for sure.”

“
I need an item
of hers,” Lorna asked, “Something to help me scry.”

“
Okay.” James
nodded, “but I must ask, what do you need it for?”

“
If Adanna is
dead, it won’t work...” Clay whispered.

“
We still need
it,” Lorna stated.

“
But what do
you need it for?” James repeated.

“
I can’t tell
you,” Cora told him. “I’m sorry, but it is only the business of our
coven.”

James inclined
his head, looking at Cora before he spoke. “Okay, I will get you
something.”

“
Thank
you.”

Kayla knelt
down and licked her finger before crossing the circle. James
disappeared.

“
Well, let’s
see what comes of that,” Ayden muttered.

“
Is that all we
need to discuss?” Ciaran asked Cora.

Every one
turned to look at her. She could see the mixture of disappointment
sit on their faces. They couldn’t let this get them down. She had
to keep their hope going, despite the fact that she felt that same
disappointment sit on her shoulders. If they allowed this little
blip to dishearten them, they wouldn’t survive this.

They had to
hold it together, there was only one way to beat Alastair, and that
was sticking together.

“
I want
everyone to come back to our house,” she announced. She realised it
was better to feel disheartened and still be together, than to feel
disheartened and be on your own. “We are in need of some food,
please, we have to remain positive. We have to stick
together.”

Jack’s
eyebrows rose up in surprise. “And you are going to
cook?”

“
No, I
thought... well, Tabitha could work her magic, or
Ember...”

Ember smiled,
closed her eyes and then disappeared. Clay mumbled something
incoherent as he lifted Ember’s lifeless body into his
arms.

“
If it is too
much trouble, young Clay, I can carry her,” Flynn
insisted.

Cora laughed.
Clay grinned but held onto Ember.

“
It wouldn’t be
worth risking my life for you just to cop a feel of
her.”

Flynn pulled a
face and walked alongside Clay as they made their way back to her
house. The sun was pushing its way out of the bruised covering.
Colours bloomed around them. Cora took a deep breath, enjoying this
time of year now the cold snap had gone.

They walked up
ahead of everyone, Jack’s hand in hers, as they listened to the
quiet chatter. Ember was already waiting for them. The steaming
pizzas lined the kitchen counters sending aromas drifting towards
them. Ember smiled, sighed, and woke up in Clay’s arm.

“
My hero,” she
called out and kissed Clay’s cheek.

Clay laughed
as he set her down. Flynn didn’t look happy as he mumbled something
under his breath, something about that kiss being his. The rush to
the pizza made Cora smile. She waited until everyone sat down and
headed to whatever was left.

Whilst they
ate their pizza, Tavish appeared in her kitchen causing many
members to stand up in anger. Before Cora could speak, a thick
black cloud encased her.

She jumped
when she felt hands slide around her waist.

“
It’s me,” Jack
whispered as he guided her around the table.

“
What the hell
is going on?” she hissed.

“
Tabitha. She
realised that her spell would not bind Tavish, but she can cause
this. It is more fun to see them stumble around
blindly.”

“
But it blinds
us too! And it would have been nice to know about it.”

“
No, it doesn’t
blind us,” Eli told her, handing her a pair of glasses.

Cora rushed to
put them on, and she saw perfectly, as if the cloud wasn’t even
there. Tavish was sneakily edging his way into the room, trying to
find them. Now she saw Alastair stood in the doorway. He hadn’t
said anything. He wanted to surprise them.

Well, she had
other ideas. She whispered instructions in Jack’s ear, and then
watched as he grinned and moved away. She crept towards Alastair,
brushing past Tavish who jumped in shock. She held back the giggle.
This was fun.

As she neared
Alastair, she saw Eli and Jack creep up behind him. All three of
them pushed at the same time. Alastair stumbled in every direction
before eventually falling over. They hurried back to their seats.
Cora let her element dance around the room, pushing away the
cloud.

“
Get. Out!”
Ayden growled fiercely, and then he laughed,
hysterically.

Not only had
Cora, Eli and Jack pushed at Alastair, they’d decided he would be
funnier missing an item of clothing.

“
This isnae
funny!” Alastair snapped, pulling on his shirt.

“
It is from
where I’m sitting!” Ayden cackled.

“
You have no
right to appear without any warning!” Tabitha snapped as flames
sparked in her hands.

“
And yer had no
right tae do whit yer huv just done!” Tavish snarled.

“
It is my
house, I can do what I want.” Cora responded.

“
If yer live by
those rules, then we can do whit we want tae do too!” Alastair
snapped.

Cora felt her
element respond to the tension in the room. “You need to leave,
now!”

“
An’ why would
A do that?” Alastair questioned as he slowly sauntered into the
kitchen.

Cora braced
herself. “Because this is my home and neither of you are invited
here. I remember being so rudely pushed out of your coven not so
long back...”

“
You are like
blood sucking vampires, never invited in,” Jack growled.

Flecks of pink
brushed up against Alastair’s cheeks. Alastair’s beady eyes studied
the room, latching onto certain people. “A see yer huv gained many
friends...”

“
Is there a law
against it?” Tabitha’s tone was low, dangerous. Her leaf green eyes
narrowed.

Alastair
shrugged. “A find it strange...”

“
You would
because you have no friends!” Clay ridiculed.

Tavish, never
learning from his mistakes, took a step towards Clay. A relaxed
smile spread across Clay’s face. He pushed his blonde hair behind
his ear.

“
Please,” Clay
goaded, holding his hands out in invitation.

“
I felt like I
need to get to know them,” Cora intervened. “I will be the leader
one day and I will work with all the covens. It’s nice to get to
know them.”

“
That isnae the
adjective I would use...” Alastair sneered.

“
Well, that’s
because-” Clay started to say, but Eli placed his hand on Clay’s
arm to stop him before things got out of hand.

“
When do you
plan on marrying?” Alastair asked.

Cora looked at
him, confused by such a change in the conversation. Where had this
come from?

“
We’ve been
preoccupied,” Ember answered.

“
A thought
yer’d want tae do it as soon as possible.”

“
I don’t want
to see your ugly mug on my wedding day. It can wait.” Jack folded
his arms, staring at Alastair.

“
Whit are yer
waitin’ for?” Alastair asked in his usual rude tone when addressing
them.

“
If you haven’t
already noticed, I’m carrying a watermelon!”

“
A thought a
shotgun wedding was yer style.”

Cora growled.
The wind pushed up against Alastair, flicking his hair
back.

“
The wedding
will happen in good time, and our friends will all be invited,”
Jack said, the grin on his face made Alastair scowl.

“
Speaking of
friends...”

This was it,
Cora thought. The reason Alastair had come. There was always a
reason.

“
A think the
truth needs tae be revealed.”

A man fell to
the floor from up above them, like he’d appeared out of thin air.
They all knew where he had come from.

They peered
closer at the man. Alastair had a habit of taking people into his
element and bringing them back whilst they were no longer alive.
Cora feared this was another of those times.

“
James?” Kayla
whispered from the back of the room.

Kayla stepped
closer but Ayden held her back. Cora held her breath as Jack moved
forward to roll the man over. Cora prepared herself to see the grey
film that covered the eyes once the life, the energy, had vacated
the body. James coughed, making Cora jump. He was still alive? How
had he survived what Alastair had put him through?