The Promise (The Coven Series) (20 page)

Jeff
grabbed my arm.
 
I opened my mouth to
protest, but stopped.
 
He stared
open-mouthed at the pedestal.
 
What was
wrong with him?
 
He looked afraid.
 
“What?” I asked him.

“It’s
gone, CJ.”

My
eyes flew back to the pedestal.
 
He was
right.
 
There was no book there.
 
I’d been so busy looking at the symbol carved
into every inch of the wood, I failed to notice the Book was missing.
 
Well, damn.
 
Where the hell was my Book?
 
Wait,
my Book?
 
I shook my head at my own
foolishness.
 
It held the answers I
needed.
 
That’s all.
 
It wasn’t my Book.

“Maybe
someone in the library has it?” I suggested.
 
“To check something?”

He
shook his head.
 
“The book never leaves
this room.
 
It’s forbidden to remove it.”

Double
damn.

“The
wards are down,” he whispered.
 
“Someone
broke through the wards and took it.”

Someone
stole my Book?
 
No
freakin
way!
 
I needed that Book!

“Are
you sure?” I demanded in a hoarse whisper.
 
What else could go wrong?

“Can’t
you smell it?” he whispered.
 
“
Sulpher
and burnt wood?”

I
sniffed and to my amazement, I did.
 
It
was very faint, but the odors were there.
 
Sort of smelled like rotten eggs.
 
So, ugh.

“We
have to go,” Jeff pushed me toward the door, but we both stopped at the sound
of a knock next door.
 

The
library door opened and Mr. Martin greeted the newcomer.
 
“Gregg, we didn’t expect you this early.”

“My
plans fell through so I thought I’d come over a little early.
 
You’re still planning on consulting the book
about the specifics for the ritual aren’t you?”

Crap.
 
It was Jeff’s dad.
 
Jeff's breathing hitched up several
notches.
 
Panic mode hit him full
force.
 

“Yes,”
Mr. Martin agreed.
 
“We were just about
to go in.”

“Shit!”
Jeff’s voice came out in a strangled whisper.
 
“They can’t find us here, CJ.
 
The
book is gone…what the hell are we going to do?
 
There’s no way out of here!”

“Surely
they won’t think we had anything to do with this,” I argued.

My
stomach clenched and I doubled over from the unexpected pain.
 
Okay, so maybe them finding us here wasn’t
such a good idea.
 
My instincts agreed
with Jeff.
 
He was right, though.
 
What the hell were we going to do?

More
voices joined the men in the hallway and panic crept up my spine.
 
Its icy fingers teased the nape of my neck
and my stomach wrenched painfully.
 

“CJ…”
Jeff’s panic hit a new level.
 
He grabbed
my hand and squeezed.
 
Hard.
 

“Be
quiet,” I hissed.
 
“Let me think.”

Calm
down, I told myself, and think.
 
We
couldn’t get out.
 
There were no windows
in the room and nowhere to hide either.
 
Dammit.
 
Well, Emily had said I
was good with spells.
 
It seemed to be
our only option at the moment even if it sounded ridiculous.
 
I said the first words that came to mind.

“Earth
and Air, I summon thee

To
hide us from eyes that must not see.

Shield
us and protect us, so that we may learn

What
they wish to keep unknown from us.”

Okay,
it wasn’t the best thing I’d ever come up with and it didn’t really even rhyme,
but I don’t think it honestly mattered.
 
A jolt of something like static electricity coursed through me and I
breathed in the scent of freshly mown grass carried on a fragrant summer
breeze.
 
It invaded my senses, wrapped
around me like a warm, comfy quilt on a cold winter’s night.
 
A peaceful calm washed through me and the
panic retreated.
 
We were safe.
 
I knew it.
 
I gave Jeff’s hand a reassuring squeeze and he stared at me in awe.
 
Could he feel it too?
 
Did he smell what I did?

“As
you all know, the preparations have already been made.”
 
Mr. Martin opened the door.
 
“Everything is ready.
 
We just need to double check the specifics as
no one has even opened the book since the last time…”

His
voice trailed off as his eyes fell upon the pedestal.
 
An outraged gasp seemed to echo among the men
staring past him.
 
The room erupted into
shouts.
 

“Be
quiet!” Mr. Martin yelled.
 
He walked
further into the room and muttered something I couldn’t hear.
 
He searched every inch of the room with his
gaze.
 
His eyes passed over Jeff and me
without faltering.
 
I wanted to shout for
joy.
 
It had worked.
 
We were really safe.
 
They couldn’t see us.
 
Thank you, Elements.
 

“The
wards have been broken,” Mr. Parker bit out.
 
Anger blazed in his voice.
 
“These
wards were put in place three years ago and no one has been able to get through
them since.”

“Until
now,” Mr. Corey, the drugstore owner, pointed out.
 

“Yes,
we can see that, Mark,” Mr. Martin barked.
 
“I can’t find a trace of magic.
 
Whoever broke these wards and stole the book is very good.”

“Who
would have stolen the book?” Mr. Corey asked.
 

“Who
indeed,” Mr. Martin murmured.
 
“We need
to call a meeting immediately.
 
Mark,
have
Gretta
start contacting everyone.
 
The rest of you help her.
 
I want everyone at the Hall within the hour.”

“Gregg,
a moment please,” Mr. Martin stopped Jeff’s dad.
 
“Will you check in with Roger?”

“Surely
you don’t think he would have stolen the book?”

“He
has more reason than anyone,” Mr. Martin shook his head.
 
“After Emily’s…accident, he’s going to do
what he can to hinder us.
  
And he’s the
only other besides myself who has the power to break those wards.”

“Still,
Jonas, I don’t think Roger would have done this.
 
That book is the most important asset we
have.
 
It’s invaluable to the Coven and
if nothing else, he’s still loyal to this Coven.”

“Is
he?” Mr. Martin asked angrily.
 
“Where
has he been the last three years?
 
He
stepped down as our leader and left us to grieve alone.
 
Does his loyalty still lie with our
Coven?
 
Will he do what must be
done?
 
Or will he try and stop us?”

“What
do you expect, Jonas?
 
His daughter
died.
 
If it had been Jeff or Meg, I
might have done the same thing.
 
We all
deal with grief in different ways.
 
It
doesn’t mean we forget where our loyalties lie.
 
He’ll do what needs to be done.”

What
needs to be done? I wanted to shout.
 

“I’m
not so sure,” Mr. Martin disagreed.

“And
you, Jonas, are you willing to sacrifice…”

“You
know that I am, Gregg.
 
If it’s what
needs to be done, then I will do it.
 
We
cannot know the truth until Samhain.”

Mr.
Parker let out a sigh.
 
“Fine.
 
I’ll talk to
him.”

“Thank
you, Gregg.”

“I’ll
just stop by the library and let Jeff know to be here for the meeting first.”
Mr. Parker turned to leave.

“Jeff
is at the library this early?” Mr. Martin asked, surprised.

“Yes,
he and CJ went over there this morning.”

“CJ?”
Mr. Martin asked sharply.
 
“He’s with CJ?”

Mr.
Parker nodded.
 
“She’s helping him with
Calculus.”

Mr.
Martin’s lips pursed.
 
“That’s a good
idea, Gregg.
 
I’ll see you when you get
back.”

I
held onto Jeff’s hand and edged to the door.
 
We needed to get out before it closed.
 

“So,
CJ was up and about this morning, was she?” Mr. Martin mused to himself as he
turned back to the empty pedestal.

We
didn’t wait for him to finish.
 
We
ran.
 
Jeff and I flew through the kitchen
and out the back door, only stopping when we got to the back entrance of the
library.

“Hurry,”
Jeff urged and pulled open the service door.
 
We climbed the back stairs and settled into one of the study areas
upstairs.
 
Jeff pulled out his Calculus
book and handed a bunch of papers to me.
 
He opened his book to a random page and then we both took a minute to
catch our breath.
 

“CJ,
are we still hidden?”

Now
how was I supposed to know?
 
I
shrugged.
 
He rolled his eyes.
 
“Dad needs to be able to see us.”

Oh.
 
“Air and Earth, I thank you for the help and
release you from my service.”
 
It didn’t
sound right, but it was the best I could come up with.

Again
I felt a jolt of electricity as the Elements left us.

“Who
the hell are you?” he growled.
 
“You
shouldn’t be able to do any of that.
 
Not
even Kay can do a concealment spell.”

What
could I say?
 
I didn’t have an answer
anymore than he did.
 

“I’m
telling you, Gregg, I haven’t seen either of them this morning,” Mrs. Guilford,
the librarian, sounded flustered.
 
“There’s no way they could be up here.”

The
door opened and Mr. Parker strode in.
 
He
eyed us both with a calculating look.

“Dad?”
Jeff looked up from his book.
 
He looked way too nervous, like a kid who’d
just got caught stealing his mom’s fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

“How
long have you been here?” his dad asked him, frowning.
 

“I
don’t know,” he shrugged.
 
“A while.”

“But
I didn’t see you come in,” Mrs. Guilford looked puzzled.
 
“How did you get up here?”

“You
weren’t at your desk, Mrs. Guilford,” I smiled.
 
“We didn’t see the need to bother you and just came on up to the study
area.
 
Were we supposed to let you know?”

“No, no, dear, of course not.
 
It must have been when I stepped away to get
a cup of coffee,” she shook her head.

“Jeff,
there’s a mandatory meeting at the Hall at nine,” Mr. Parker told his son.
 
“Don’t be late.”

“Meeting?”
Jeff frowned.
 
“This early?”

“Yes.
 
Same for you, Betty,” he told Mrs.
Guilford.
 
“CJ, you might want to get on
home.”

“Yes,
sir,” I nodded.
 

Jeff
let out the biggest sigh I’ve ever heard and slumped in his chair when the door
closed behind his father and Mrs. Guilford.
  
“I thought we were so totally busted.”

“Have
a little faith, Neighbor Boy.”
 
I slumped
down into my own chair.
 
I’d thought
there for a minute we were busted too.
 

“CJ,
you know you’re
freakin
scary, right?”
 
He started shoving his stuff back into the
bookbag.
 
“The things you can do…it’s
just freaking unbelievable.”

I
felt like a freak, but didn’t tell him that.
 
It wasn’t my fault the Elements responded to me.
 
I didn’t ask for it and I didn’t want it, but
I had to get up to speed and quick.
 

“Can
you bring over some books tonight?” I asked.
 
“Something on the Elements maybe?”

“Yeah,”
he nodded and stood.
 
“I can do
that.
 
Just be careful okay?”

“Sure,”
I smiled.
 
“You’d best get going before
they come looking.”

“I
might not be able to tell you anything about the meeting,” he said.

“I’m
pretty sure you won’t,” I laughed.
 
“That’s alright.
 
We’ll figure
this out.”