“So, I have good news and bad news,” I said, standing up and making my way to the middle of the room so I could see everyone better. “The bad news is that our fears have come true. The Parrishables are back and they’re out for blood. In fact, I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think I was attacked by Samuel Parris himself tonight.”
Gasps escaped from a few mouths and whispers erupted around me.
“Creepy old guys aside, they’re strong. Really strong. And they’re a lot more experienced in fighting battles,” I said. “They know how to find us and that we’re running scared. And if we keep letting them ambush us, they will take each and every one of us out.”
I’d been pacing the floor as I talked, but now I turned around and looked into the eyes of my fellow Cleri as I continued on.
“But we’re strong too,” I said, emphasizing each syllable. “I realized something tonight, guys. They want our power. I mean, think about it. They wouldn’t be coming after us otherwise. It may not seem like it, because we haven’t had much experience using our magic in a fight, but it’s true. Like Sascha said, Samuel basically confirmed it tonight. He wants us gone because we’re a threat.”
“Yeah, but the Parrishables sort of handed our asses to us at the mall,” Jasmine said. Realizing she’d just said this out loud, she stood up a bit straighter. “I mean, you know I’m always looking for a fight, but I’m not sure everyone else is ready.”
Emory stepped up. “What I think Jasmine’s trying to say is, how can we possibly go up against the Parrishables? We need to train, but there’s no time. We’re willing to do whatever you want us to, Hadley, I think you know that. But we need to do something more. Otherwise, how will it be enough?” Emory said.
The others were staring at me now, waiting for me to say something. They were nervous, and honestly, so was I. What I was about to ask them to do was not only dangerous but scary. I needed them to put all their faith in me and what I was about to say without any proof that it would end in anything other than bloodshed. But I could feel it in my bones. Together we would be enough.
“You’re right. In order to beat the Parrishables, we have to be more,” I said.
I watched as everyone began to look around at each other, wondering what I was getting at.
“And even if we up our game, we will be risking our lives. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. It’s not fair that this random group of people wants us dead, even though we’ve never done anything to them,” I said. I hated that other kids our age were worrying about who was going to ask them to the winter semiformal and we were stuck here stressing over whether or not we’d still be alive long enough to even go. “Plain and simple—this sucks.”
“Uh, Hadley? Is this supposed to be a pep talk or a pity party?” Jasmine asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and continued.
“This sucks—but it’s not over,” I finished. “You guys did some amazing stuff while going up against the Parrishables tonight. It made me think that we may be selling ourselves short about our ability to fight back.”
“Maybe you should’ve gotten checked out at the hospital when the others were too,” Peter said. “Sounds like you may have amnesia or something.”
“No, really. Just hear me out,” I said. I was happy that Peter was joking around, because it meant he was starting to feel better. Turning my attention over to Sascha, I went on. “I know you did something earlier tonight. Something I’ve never seen before.”
Sascha looked at me wide-eyed, like she’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Now, either I was out the day Jackson taught us how to do that or you learned it somewhere else.”
“Um, it sort of just came to me,” she said helplessly. “Look, Hadley, I’m sorry, I know we’re not supposed to—”
“Why are you apologizing?” I asked, cutting her off. “If you hadn’t followed your instincts and done that voodoo that you do, I don’t think I would’ve survived that fight back there. I owe you my life. Don’t you ever apologize for using the power you’ve been given. Any of you.”
Even though Sascha looked embarrassed by the sudden attention, I knew that she was feeling honored by the compliment. The color had even begun to return to her cheeks and she was starting to look alive again.
“And I think most of you know by now that Emory has some unique gifts of her own.” I turned to look at my new friend. “I’ve never met anyone who has abilities like you. Communicating with those who’ve passed… do you have any idea how special that is? How special you all are?”
I surveyed the room and realized I was growing to care about everyone in it—even Fallon, who’d finally appeared in the doorway behind me. They were my friends, my soul mates, my family. But I couldn’t forget that one of them was a traitor, either. One of our own was planning to sell us out. I just hoped he or she wasn’t more powerful than the rest of us together. Once I knew what special abilities each of us had, I’d also know what the potential traitor was capable of. And traitor or not, the coven was tighter than ever.
“You’re all probably wondering why we were hit so hard at the mall and earlier tonight. How we can possibly win a fight against the Parrishables? What’s so different about us now that will lead us to a victory? Well, the answer is you—you and your individual gifts are what’s gonna keep us all alive. That’s what will make us stronger than them. The natural gifts that run through our veins—passed down through our ancestors—that’s something the Parrishables don’t have. Our individual powers. And that’s how we’re going to get rid of them once and for all.
“Starting now we’re going to teach each other everything we know. Every spell you’ve ever created, whether you think it’s relevant or not, can help us win the fight against our enemies. And for those of you whose powers can’t be taught, we’re counting on you to hone those skills and use them when the timing’s right. Of course, all of this means more training, but not just in our magic. We need to become proficient in hand-to-hand combat, because we’ve learned the hard way that they’re not limiting the battle to spells.” I looked over at Sascha, who still had yellowing circles of bruises decorating her jaw and cheek.
“We have to truly learn how to fight, and I’m not going to lie: it’s going to be hard, really hard, and you’re probably going to hate me before this is over. But I don’t care, because this is what’s going to keep us from ending up like our parents. And if you have to yell at me and talk about me behind my back to do it, so be it. I’m not letting you all down again. We will win this thing.”
They were hanging on my every word, and even without asking, I could feel it in my heart… they were ready to do what had to be done.
“I’m not sure whether we’re being watched or followed, but I think we need to assume that the Parrishables will come looking for us,” I said. “And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of waiting around for them to find us. They were looking for a war and now they’ve found one.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Apparently, all you need to do in order to light a fire under someone’s butt is land your friends in the hospital. Because once the violence gets real, people tend to come around to doing whatever it takes to survive.
The next day when everyone had woken up by 8 a.m., gotten fed and dressed, and assembled in the living room all ready to go, I knew that what I’d said the night before had really sunk in. It was also proof that all had been forgiven, which made me happier than I could describe.