Taking a big step forward, I got so close to Emory that I could feel her breath on my face. Underneath the darkness of her eyes, I could see fear beginning to creep in. This would have made me smile if I hadn’t already been so upset.
“Don’t you dare talk about my family like that ever again. They were better witches than you’ll ever be, and the Parrishables will burn for what they did to them. But right now, while you’re still alive? You’re about to know pain unlike anything before,” I said deliberately. I moved another inch closer to Emory. Our noses were almost touching now, and I was officially invading her space. Oddly enough, I didn’t care if she was uncomfortable, because I was about to make her wish she’d never infiltrated my coven.
“You were right about one thing, though,” I said, this time my voice low and clear. I knew the others were straining to hear what I was saying, but this last bit was just for her. “I am more powerful than you could ever imagine, and you’ve gotten on my bad side. The Parrishables can come after me as often as they want. You may hurt me, you may slow me down, but you need to understand me when I say, I will win.”
I didn’t wait for a response. Emory’s pale face and dropped jaw were enough. I wasn’t playing games anymore. It was time for the Parrishables to know what they were up against.
I began to walk away, hoping to collect my thoughts and maybe start strategizing on how to defeat the Parrishables. I’d gone only a few steps before Asher stopped me.
“Hadley, wait! I’m not like her. I had nothing to do with what happened to your parents. I didn’t even want to do any of this. Hadley!” Asher tried to get to his feet, reaching out his hands like he might be able to keep me from leaving. The others pulled him back, refusing to let him get any nearer.
Emory took advantage of the scuffle to yank herself free of Peter’s and Jasmine’s grip, and she began to run toward the back fence and beyond it. To freedom.
“Grab her!” I screamed. A few of us shot spells her way, but we were still so shocked by the whole situation that none hit their mark. A few moments later, she was gone.
And part of me was happy about it.
“Hasta la pasta, biznatch,” Jasmine said, looking in the direction of where Emory had disappeared.
With her went our best chance at learning more about what the Parrishables had planned. But all wasn’t lost. We still had Asher. As hurt and angry as I was with him, I wasn’t about to let him get away without giving us every bit of information we wanted.
“Tie him up in the shed at the side of the house,” I told the guys who were once again holding Asher down. “Get him to tell us what the Parrishables have planned. And if he doesn’t—kill him.”
I didn’t really mean what I said, and there was no way the others were about to off another kid their age unless it was in extreme self-defense, but Asher didn’t have to know that. It would probably do the backstabber good to squirm a little anyway. Now he’d know what it felt like to be betrayed.
“What?” Asher asked, his eyes going wide. “Are you kidding me? Hadley, I’m not who you think I am. I’m—”
“Muflix sertikin,” I said, directing the words of the mumming spell right at my ex.
I was through listening to his lies.
As soon as Asher was secured in the shed, I gathered everyone up and held a meeting. Now that we were rid of our infiltrators, we could get back to training—doubling our efforts this time. With a few of the older kids watching Asher and trying to get answers out of him, Sascha, Jasmine, Peter, Fallon, and I began to pore over my family’s spell book. There was no way I was going to be able to learn the spells all on my own, and now that I knew who I could trust, I was ready to share the knowledge.
So, after teaching the rest of the group some basic hand-to-hand combat and defensive moves (blocking punches, kicks, and getting out of holds), I left them to practice, while the five of us read through and memorized as many of the spells as we could. If we were able to pull these spells off, it would give us the edge over the Parrishables, since these spells had been used by my family exclusively.
“Why are these spells so long?” Sascha whined.
We were all gathered up in my parents’ room, since it was the biggest in the house, and I could still look out the window and check on what the others were doing. Everyone had taken up different spots around the room to practice the spells that had been assigned to them. Sascha was lying on a chair in the corner, her head dangling off the front and her back in the seat. She had her legs resting against the back of the chair even though she was wearing a skirt, which was creeping up her thighs. I wasn’t the only one who noticed she was dangerously close to flashing everyone in the room. But if it was what helped her to retain the shielding spell she was currently learning, more power to her.
“I actually kind of like them,” Jasmine admitted. She’d taken over the bed as soon as we’d entered, falling back against the enormous pillows and making herself comfortable. Peter had somehow managed to park his butt on the corner of the mattress, far enough away so as not to violate Jasmine’s personal space. She didn’t seem to mind him being there, though. Then again, who would ever be able to kick Pete off the bed? It would be like making a puppy sleep on the floor. “It’s like we’re taking it back to old-school magic. Way cooler.”
“Your idea of cool is seriously messed up,” Sascha answered sarcastically, and then stuck out her tongue. “I just wish they’d get to the point already.”
“I actually think there’s something to it.” I was sitting on the window ledge, watching everyone below me practice, but turned back inside. “It’s like, the more specific the spells are, the more potent they are. It’s hard to describe, but when I did the spell earlier, I felt this surge of power unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It was like I was tapping in to something ancient.”
“Well, these are definitely old,” Fallon said with a snort as he flipped halfheartedly through the book. I flinched as he almost ripped one of its pages. I was still reeling from the fact that he wasn’t the one who’d sold the Cleri out, and even though I logically knew he wasn’t working for the Parrishables, I still didn’t fully trust him. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a choice given the circumstances.
“I didn’t mean ancient like outdated. I meant like… magic that’s been built up over time. These spells are more intense than any we’ve ever been taught. If we’re going to have any chance at beating the Parrishables, this is it.”
“You. If you’re going to have any chance of beating them,” Fallon said quietly. “They’ve made it pretty clear that they’re not worried about the rest of us. The only person they think is a threat is you. We’re just casualties of their war.”
I understood what Fallon was feeling and I was surprised that he was only bringing this fact up now. There was no malice or jealousy in his words. Just acceptance of his fate. Only, I didn’t believe that what he said was completely true.
“I know it seems that way, Fallon, and if any of you want to get out before this thing gets really messy, I won’t hold it against you. But they’re wrong,” I said, looking at him now with a new set of eyes. “They think I’m powerful, and yeah, maybe I am. But I can’t do this on my own. I need you guys more than you know. It’s because of the coven that we’re all still alive.”
Fallon began to shake his head like he didn’t believe me, and the others looked a little doubtful themselves, so I pushed on.