The Promise (The Coven Series) (10 page)
Read The Promise (The Coven Series) Online
Authors: Apryl Baker
My
foot tangled in a mess of lights and I fell.
I landed face down in a pile of costumes.
I pushed myself up with my good hand and
froze.
Something shiny and bright caught
my attention.
It was hidden underneath
Grandma Bishop’s old Singer sewing machine.
I crawled over and pulled it out.
My mind froze up for a minute as it took in the box wrapped in metallic
red paper sporting little happy birthday logos all across it.
Oh
damn.
It couldn’t be.
A
card with my name on it was anchored under the silver ribbon.
I ripped the card open and almost dropped it
in shock.
Happy Birthday, Little Sister
Love Emily
I’d
looked everywhere for this after the funeral.
She’d tormented and teased me unmercifully about what she’d gotten me
for my fifteenth birthday.
I couldn’t
believe I’d found it after all these years.
I traced the words over and over, mindless of the tears that rolled down
my cheeks.
I
pulled the wrapping paper apart very gently, not wanting to lose even a piece
of it, and uncovered a plain white shirt box.
Inside, nestled in a bed of red tissue, lay Emily’s induction
dress.
Her silver locket rested on top
of the sheer material.
My hand shook as
I picked it up.
We’d searched for this
locket after the accident.
Dad had
wanted to bury her with it.
Now I knew
why we couldn’t find it—she’d planned on giving it to me.
A
whimper escaped as pain ripped through me.
The old wound had never really healed and seeing this just made it bleed
even more than usual.
I opened the tiny
clasp.
Her face smiled up at me.
Our hair lay twisted together over my own
face.
She’d worn it so she could have
something of me with her at her ceremony, and now I would wear it to have a
piece of her with me always.
After
fastening the locket around my neck, I held up the dress.
It shimmered and glowed even in the dusty
confines of the attic like a thousand tiny lights glittered against it.
It was beautiful.
I
started to put it back in the box when a letter caught my attention.
It was addressed to me.
Hey
Little Sis,
Happy
birthday!
I am going to put this at the
foot of your bed so you’ll see it as soon as you wake up.
I can’t wait to see your expression.
I’ve tortured you long enough.
This
gown is very special.
It really is the
original gown worn by Sara Bishop.
She
was the Coven Mistress in Massachusetts and this gown has been worn by all her
descendants.
Grandma Bishop gave it to
me when I was twelve and told me its history.
Like you, I didn’t believe it then either, but it’s true, Cassie
Jayne.
This gown is a part of our
heritage, our history, and it’s priceless for that reason.
I know you’ll take good care of it and the
responsibility that comes with it.
It
belongs to you, always has I think.
No
one else has ever been able to touch it without the aid of a spell.
It burns to the touch.
I could hold it, but not for long.
When you were able to touch it, I knew then
it was yours.
I
have something very special planned for your induction ceremony.
You and Kay always celebrate your birthdays
together, but your induction into the Junior Coven should be about you and you
alone.
That is why I have planned Kay’s
induction for the first Saturday in November.
Yours will be on your birthday.
Before
the Junior Coven leader can join the Coven, the next leader must be chosen and
I choose you, Cassie Jayne.
You are to
be the next leader of the Junior Coven.
Don’t be afraid.
It’s scary, but
amazing.
I know you don’t believe in it
now, but after your induction ceremony, all your doubts will be swept away. I
promise.
It’s who you are.
I
love you so much, little sister, and am so very proud of you.
Happy birthday!
Love,
Emily
Questions
exploded into my mind.
She’d planned to
hand the Junior Coven over to me?
It made
no sense.
Why would she warn me to stay
away from it then?
What had happened to
change her mind?
I thought back to the
night that was forever burned into my memory.
She’d been scared that night. She’d loved the Coven with her entire
being.
This proved it.
So why, why had she told me not to go near
it?
What had she known about the Coven
that I didn’t?
What had scared her into
making me promise to stay away from it?
A
horrible thought pushed its way in.
What
if the Coven had something to do with her death?
Oh, damn.
My stomach clenched painfully.
I
knew I was right.
I didn’t understand
why, but I was right.
Maybe her death
hadn’t been an accident after all.
Could
that be why she’d warned me away from the Coven?
Because they’d tried to
kill her?
I’d
promised her I’d stay away, but I couldn’t.
She was my sister and I needed to find out if what had happened to her
was really an accident or not.
“I’m
sorry,” I whispered and folded the gown back into the box.
“I have to know, Ems.”
I
pulled out my phone and found Ethan’s number.
“Cassie,”
he answered.
I could hear the smile in
his voice.
My stomach flipped at the
sound.
He sounded like he’d just woken
up.
Images flooded my mind at that
thought and I blushed to the roots of my hair.
“So
what do I wear to an induction ceremony?” I asked him.
“What’s
wrong?” he demanded.
“You sound like
you’ve been crying.”
“Nothing’s
wrong,” I lied.
“I just found something
that reminded me of Emily, that’s all.”
“Are
you okay?”
“Not
really, but I will be.
So, I’ll meet you
in the park at seven?”
“I
can pick you up.”
“No,
I don’t want Dad to know I’m going.
It’ll just upset him.”
“Okay,”
he agreed with a sigh.
“Can
I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did
your dad ever bring you to visit you grandfather here when you were little?”
“No,
I told you Mom wouldn’t let us visit.
Granddad came to us.”
Who
was lying?
Ethan or
Mom?
“Why?”
he asked me.
“No
reason,” I said.
“So, what do I wear
tonight?”
“Something nice.”
“Okay,
I’ll see you at seven.
Bye.”
I
snapped the phone shut, my stomach clenched into knots.
Mom said Ethan had been here before and Ethan
denied it.
Who
was lying to me and why?
Chapter Eight
I
ended up choosing my cream colored dress with long, fitted sleeves.
A pair of black, strappy Stuart Weitzman
heels completed my ensemble.
Thank the
Fates Macy’s had opened at the Northlake Mall in Charlotte.
My shoe obsession could now be supported with
relative ease.
Mostly.
Now, if I could only get my parents to see my
passion for shoes as the vital necessity it was, life would be good.
I had my eye on the cutest pair of Chloe
boots, but so far, no such luck on that front.
After
I stuffed my dress and shoes in my back pack, I glanced at the clock.
6:15 p.m.
I needed to get a move on if I wanted to be ready on time.
Mom had already left to help set up, so all I
needed to do was get past Dad.
I found
him propped up in his easy chair watching ESPN, a bowl of popcorn balanced
precariously on his knee.
He held a can
of Coke in one hand and the remote in the other.
“Dad,
I’m going out for a while.
Do you need
anything?”
Please
don’t ask where I’m going, please don’t ask where I’m going, please…
“No,
but I do need to talk to you.”
He looked
up from the TV and motioned for me to sit on the couch.
“Sure, Dad.”
He’s not
drunk, I reminded myself.
Still, I sat
as far from him as possible.
I didn’t
blame him for what had happened, but I was a little wary of him.
Regret flared in his eyes and I felt guilty,
but I couldn’t bring myself to move any closer.
“CJ,
I need to apologize for what I did to you,” he said in a rough, scratchy
voice.
“There’s no excuse for it and I
promise you, honey, it will never happen again.
I didn’t mean to do it, Cassie Jayne.”
“I
know, Daddy.”
“You’re
all I have left, the most important thing in my life.
I haven’t touched a drink since and I promise
you, I won’t ever again.
I love you too
much to ever hurt you again.
All I ever
wanted was to keep you safe.”
To keep you safe.
Words any parent might say, but in my dad’s voice, there was a whole
world of implications.
What did he know?
“Will
you tell me the truth if I ask a question?”
“If I can.”
“Why
is it so important to you that I stay away from the Coven?”
His
golden eyes looked at me, shrewd and assessing.
“The Coven is not always what it seems.”
“That’s
not an answer.”
Anger laced my
words.
My stomach started to hurt.
He knew something, maybe everything, but
wasn’t going to tell me.
“Why did you
flip out?
What scared you so much it
made you lose control?”
“I
was drunk, and thinking about Emily.
I
don’t even remember what I said.”
His
bottom lip quivered.
Crap.
At least I knew where I got it from.
“You’re
lying.”
“It’s
all I can tell you, CJ.
Please, honey,
just stay away from them.
I don’t want
to lose you too.”
“Lose
me how?” I jumped up, frustrated.
“You’re not making sense!”
He
turned back to the TV.
“I’m sorry.
I can’t tell you anything else.
Won’t you just trust me?”
Trust
me.
There it was again.
Ethan had said to trust him, too.
Both of them were lying and it was really
pissing me off.
“Fine.
Whatever.
I’m
leaving.”
He
nodded, focused on the sports announcer droning on in a monotone.
I
made it to the front door.
“Where
are you going, CJ?”
“Just out for a while.
I have a date.”
It
wasn’t lying, not really.
I did have a
date with Ethan.
“Don’t
stay out too late.”
“That’s
it?” I asked incredulously.
“Don’t stay
out too late?”
“I
know the initiation is tonight, but you told me you wouldn’t go near the Coven
and I trust you.
No more insane
accusations.
Have a good time.”
Now
I felt about as low as a piece of gum stuck to a brand new pair of Prada heels.
“Bye,
Dad.”
Sorry, I mouthed silently to his
back and slipped out the front door.
I
sighed in frustration as I jogged the short distance to Kay’s.
He had to go and say he trusted me, didn’t
he?
It’s not like I’d lied, not
really.
I mean, I was going on a date.
To the initiation.
Crap, I’d lied to my dad.
I hated lying.
