Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

FRANKIE

The sun sat high in the sky, yet the barest hint of its light reached my face. The air was thick with dark-gray smoke that billowed from the ruins and rubble around me. Ash rained down, landing on my skin. I took deep, labored breaths, but each one sent sharp pains into my ribs and down my spine. My chest burned. I was bound to spit fire any minute now. I pressed my palm to my side and found my clothes wet and sticky. When I lifted my hand, I tried to ignore the way my fingers trembled.

Blood stained every crack and crevice of my palm, running like rivers through a valley down my wrist as I held it up to my face. I licked my lips and tasted the metallic twinge of blood. My stomach rolled.

It was not my blood.

And for that, I would have theirs.

"Wake up, Francelina. "

I woke with a gasp so hard I choked on it. My heart pounded against my chest like it was trying to break out of its cage. I rolled onto my side and felt sweat drip down the side of my neck. My hair was wet and plastered to my skin. My pillowcase was soaked. With a groan, I kicked my blankets off of me, then patted myself down only to find sweat covered every inch of my body. I sat up and spotted all three of my dogs sleeping in a cuddle puddle on the fuzzy rug on my floor. Given how much sweat was on me, I didn't blame them for abandoning me.

That dream was . . . intense.

Never in my life had I had such a visceral dream. It'd felt so real, like I was there. A cold chill slid down my spine and I shivered. The air conditioner clicked back on and cold air washed over me, causing goosebumps to cover my skin. I was a sweaty, disgusting mess. I climbed out of bed and tiptoed across to my closet to change into some dry clothing. When I reemerged from my closet, however, I found all three of them sitting in a row waiting for me. They looked up with big eyes and their tails wagging.

The clock on my nightstand said it was three in the morning, which meant the boys and I had only been asleep for about two and a half hours. But the looks on their faces told me they wanted to be up and moving. I glanced to my bed and the sweat-soaked sheets and cringed. There was no chance I was getting back in there without changing the sheets, except the closet with all the clean spare sheets was on the other side of the house next to my aunt and uncle's room. I didn't like my odds of not waking them up and having to answer a million questions. They'd always cared, a lot, but the coma just sent them into hyperactive mode. I didn't blame them. I just didn't want to talk about that dream yet.

I sighed and looked down at my boys. "Wanna go for a walk?"

They jumped and spun in circles, bouncing up and down.

"I'll take that as a yes." I waved for the door. "But be quiet."

The four of us crept down the hallway toward the front door where I stashed their leashes and stuff. It took me just a few seconds to get their harnesses on and then we were slipping out the front door. The night was warm and stagnant. There wasn't a breeze to be felt, none of the trees swayed or rustled. Everything was just silent. It was a little eerie, but I couldn't put my finger on why.

The boys trotted down the sidewalk like this was the best night ever, their tails wagging a mile a minute. They had their snouts to the ground like vacuum cleaners as we walked. I chuckled and pulled out my phone to call Elizabeth because that was habit. If she wasn't walking the dogs with me, then I called her while I did it. But it was three in the morning— wait, no. She's in China. I could have called but the street was so damn quiet the idea of speaking out loud felt wrong. Instead, I sent her a picture text of me and the boys out on our stroll with a caption quoting Patsy Cline's Walking after Midnight song.

My phone vibrated immediately. When I opened the screen, her response was there. ‘ WHY ARE YOU OUT ON A WALK AT 3AM FRANKIE?'

‘They had to go potty?' I lied.

‘BULLSHIT, YOU HAVE A BACKYARD AT THAT HOUSE.'

I grimaced. She always called me on my bluffs. ‘ Well . . .'

‘DON'T LIE TO ME.'

‘FINE. I had a bad dream. It was just really intense and I was sweaty and gross and I just needed fresh air to shake it off, okay? Is that better?'

She sent me emojis with the crying face. ‘ I still don't like you being out there by yourself—and the boys don't count.'

I ran my finger over the magical sticker on the back of my case and smirked. ‘ I have a weapon?'

The eye-rolling emojis were sent so they filled my entire screen.

‘Look, I've met my neighbors. They're cool af. If trouble comes for me, I'll knock on their door.'

‘I don't like it, Frankie.'

I sighed. ‘ I don't like a lot of things. Like you being in China, for starters.'

‘TELL ME ABOUT IT.'

‘I'd love for YOU to tell ME about it. What's it like? What are you doing every day?'

First, she sent a gif of a girl sitting at a window, watching the rain and crying. ‘ I'm working on my homeschooling. Learned some new video games. I don't really know. I'm finding things to fill my time. I'm not really allowed out.'

‘What do you mean? Your parents won't let you leave?'

‘I can . . . but I can't. It's tricky. And I'm not sure who's more overbearing, my parents or Tai.'

I grinned. ‘ How is Tai?'

‘He's Tai.'

I rolled my eyes. ‘ Speaking of boys, meet any in China?'

‘Did you already forget the part where I'm not really allowed out?'

‘So then you're not playing video games online with people?'

‘Oh . . . that doesn't count.' She sent the emojis of a person hiding. ‘ I'm not into dating right now, not yet. Too soon.'

My stomach turned at that. ‘ But you're okay?'

‘Yeah, I'm okay. What about you?'

‘I'm cool.'

‘I meant are there any cute boys? What about this Archie kid that's your neighbor?'

‘OH. Well . . .' I bit my lip and shrugged even though she couldn't see me. ‘ Archie is super cool. I like hanging with him. But we're just friends.'

‘Is he not cute?'

‘He's cute but like . . .'

‘Isn't he really short?'

I scowled. ‘ That's not why—I mean, yes, he is short. But it's not that . . . It's like . . . it's like . . . it's like the idea of me dating Tai.'

‘GROSS,' she sent with the vomiting emoji.

‘He's not MY brother, dude.'

‘Might as well be at this point.'

I chuckled. ‘ Fair. Anyhoo, there is a cute boy named Tomás. I haven't figured out where his family is from yet, but he's got a sexy accent and speaks Spanish. And these adorable dimples.'

‘So you're into him!!!'

‘I wouldn't go that far. But I'm trying to be into him?'

A cold chill slid down my spine like someone had reached out and ran their fingers down it. I shivered and glanced around, but there wasn't a person in sight. The dogs had their noses to the ground—they flinched and looked behind us to our left. Their ears perked up and their tails curled towards their backs. My heart stopped. I glanced back in that direction, yet there was nothing but shadows.

My phone vibrated and made me jump. I cursed and looked down to find a text from Elizabeth.

‘That's fair. Are you back home yet?'

I peeked over my shoulder to the shadows beneath those oak trees. ‘ No, but we're heading back that way.'

The boys were on high alert now. The fur on their backs stood tall. There was nothing back there, but I felt what they did. It was like eyes watching us. Someone was watching us. I hurried my steps, half-dragging the boys along with me, but they kept turning to look behind us, which naturally just sent my pulse into hyperdrive. Just keep walking, Franks.

I made it about another two houses down when I felt something poke me from inside my pocket. Without slowing my pace, I reached into my pocket and found something cold and solid. When I pulled it out, I found the rose quartz crystal Esther had given me earlier at the beach. More specifically, it was a pendulum. I held it up, letting the crystal dangle from the silver chain. The rose quartz seemed to glow despite the bare sliver of a crescent moon up in the sky. It was almost like it was lit from within.

That tingling sensation slithered down my spine again. I stood up straight and glanced over my shoulder. There was nothing. No one. But I felt someone. I stared into the shadows between the houses waiting for something to step into the light. It was probably nothing, probably a figment of my imagination, yet I still found myself reaching for my phone so I could get my finger on that sticker. If I needed it, I could have a dagger in my hand in seconds. A bat even faster.

" You shouldn't be out here ," a deep male voice whispered in my ear.

I spun around with my heart in my throat and gasped. But it was just Archie.

My breath left me in a rush. " ARCHIE. "

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He gave me a nervous chuckle and pointed to his left. "I was sitting on my side steps and saw you walk by, so I came over."

I looked up and realized I was home. I was literally standing on the sidewalk in front of my house. "I . . . scared the shit out of myself for a second there."

"I noticed." He crouched down and ruffled the boys' ears. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Weird dreams, ya know? So, I went for a walk." I glanced around our street. "What are you doing out here?"

He looked up at me sheepishly, then stood up straight. "I was just trying to practice with my wand without anyone watching."

"Oh." I nodded. "How's that going?"

He grimaced and pointed to the wooden fence on the side of his house that was in shambles. "I might need help fixing that."

I snort laughed. "I'm not much help there."

"Mom will fix it in the morning. Or she'll call someone who can." He looked up at me with a smile, then frowned at my hand. "Whatch'ya got in your hand? Is that a pendulum?"

"Yeah, I found It in my pocket. Esther gave it to me at the beach earlier but I was too nervous to try with them watching. I guess we have that in common."

"Hopefully not that in common too." He laughed and pointed back to the busted fence. "Wanna go in your backyard? I can show you how to use that."

"You know pendulums?"

"Hey, I may suck with a wand, but pendulums are more my wheelhouse."

"Cool. Because I'm confused." I tugged on my dogs' leashes and led them to the side gate for the backyard. "So, Archie, what's coming for me with this challenge the group has taken upon themselves?"

"With the talismans?"

"Yep. Should I be scared?"

He shrugged as we went through the side gate. "Can't be worse than me with a wand."

"But what do they want me to do? " I reached down and unhooked the boys' leashes so they could run free. "It's all very ominous, Archie."

"Nah, nah. As we told you, each Suit has a designated style of talisman that they use for their brand of magic."

"Is that how they do it at the schools? Just have everyone trying them all out?—"

"Goddess, no. There's a crystal ball that tells you, not much different than the sorting hat in Harry Potter except it doesn't talk." He grinned and gestured to sit on the stone steps in my backyard. "Because of their close proximity to The Coven all these years, the parents here took their kids to get sorted into their Suits and helped them get talismans so they'd have something to work with. That's how they know what they are?—"

"And you went to Edenburg?"

"I did, yes. But I think they're all assuming you're not gonna run up to Eden just so you can get sorted right away."

"No, definitely not. That'd be overwhelming as fuck."

"So, they wanna play this little game where they try and guess which Suit you are." He pet Bubba as he ran by with a stick. "It just means they're gonna have you try our talismans out. No big deal, really."

"Oh." I nodded. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"Exactly. And neither is a pendulum." He rubbed his hands together, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his own pendulum. His was a tiger's eye on a silver chain. He held it up in front of him so only his thumb and middle finger touched the chain, allowing it to hang straight down. "Pendulums tap into the energies of the world around us."

I held mine up like he was. "How do I make it move?"

"You talk to it. Now, you don't have to speak out loud, but when you're first learning, it's a bit easier to actually say it. You wanna make sure your arm is rested, and like your shoulder isn't lifted or anything, and you wanna be calm. Breathe. Keep yourself steady."

"Okay. Like this?"

He looked at me and nodded. Then he lowered his pendulum. "You're gonna do this by yourself so the crystals don't get mixed signals. What you wanna do is establish a baseline. Once you get comfortable with your pendulum—like that specific one—you might not have to do this every time you use it. But you'll have to feel it out. Now, you're going to take a deep breath, then say to your pendulum, show me yes. "

I took a deep breath as he instructed with my pendulum hanging from my hand, then said, "Show me yes . "

The rose quartz crystal instantly swung to the left, then back to the right.

"Then you say, stop. "

I nodded. "Stop . " The pendulum stopped short and hung straight down again.

"Now you say, show me no. "

I licked my lips. "Show me no . "

Yet again, the crystal moved on its own. I could've sworn I felt a tingle through the chain. This time it swung toward me, then away from me, swinging back and forth that way. I told it to stop again, and it did. My jaw dropped. This was some kind of magic, that was for sure.

"Now you can say, show me maybe. "

I stared at my pendulum. "Show me maybe . "

The pendulum swung diagonally.

I shook my head. "This is wild. How many things can it do? Can I say, show me I don't know? "

To my shock, the pendulum changed course mid-swing and began circling in the air. I giggled. "This is cool. So now what?"

He shrugged. "Now you ask it questions and remember which swing meant which answer."

"Okay. Okay. Let me try." I cleared my throat. "Are my aunt and uncle going to catch us out here tonight?"

The pendulum swung toward me, then away.

"Nice. All right, um, is Archie's mom going to be mad at him for wrecking their fence?"

The pendulum flew to the left.

"Ah, c'mon!" He laughed and hung his head. "Dammit."

"This is fun. And naturally, I have no idea what to ask it now that I'm here."

"That's okay. It's best if you practice and get connected to your pendulum when you're alone, so it can focus on just you."

"Thanks for showing me that. I didn't want to ask in front of everyone, felt like their eyes were all on me."

"Anything else you want to ask about?"

"Yeah, what are all those words everyone's been using? Hierophant, Death, Devil, High Priestess . . .?"

"Oh." He frowned. "Those are the Cards of The Coven."

"Cards?"

"Right. New here. Got it. Okay, so you know how the four Suits are from tarot cards? Wands, Pentacles, Swords, and Cups?" When I nodded, he continued, "Those are all the minor arcana cards. In a tarot deck, those range from ace, page, knight, queen, king, and then one through ten. But there are twenty-two major arcana cards and each of those has a specific name?—"

"Are you about to tell me that tarot cards are based on witches and not the other way around?"

He grinned. "See how quick you are? Yes, The Coven has the original tarot deck. Over time, the humans copied it and made their own versions. They don't know that's where it's from, our magic erases the us part of their memory, but it's par for the course with humans and witches. Actually, give me your phone?"

I handed it to him. "So, the words Hierophant, Death, Devil, High Priestess . . . they're part of the twenty-two?"

"Yep." He was downloading an app, but I couldn't see what it was. "This is a free tarot card app. Open it up and read through all the cards, and you'll get like a cheat sheet on the foundation of our society."

"That's really cool. I'm going to study this because I hate being confused."

"Ask me anything, anytime. There are no stupid questions." He smiled. "Go ahead, hit me with it."

"What's their magic like? I mean, it must be special."

"The Coven? It's elemental magic." He shrugged. "And that's not always literal. So, like, the Empress has control of fire, smoke, and metal. Oh, Royce is the Wheel of Fortune. He has power over plants and nature."

"What about his boyfriend, Thiago?"

"He's the Hanged Man. His powers are interesting. It's like light and shadows. Really tricky stuff but important." He pursed his lips as he thought about all their magic. "The Sun has the sun. The Moon has the moon. The Star can go into dreams. Death can summon the dead and communicate with them. High Priestess has water, air, and spirit—which includes wisdom and intuition."

"What about this Tennessee I've heard so much about?"

"Uh, the Emperor has the power of water, wind, and earth."

"Damn. That's so cool. All of that is so cool. I wanna see that in person."

"It's a crazy thing to watch. For sure."

"So, if you could pick . . . which Card in The Coven would you want to be?"

"The Fool, probably," he said quickly like he'd thought about it before.

"Why? What can they do?"

"Because The Fool can speak to animals, and that just seems like it'd be really special."

I stared at my dogs for a long minute as they ran around the yard chasing bugs. "Well, shit, now I have to change my answer."

He threw his head back and laughed. "What were you gonna say?"

"I was thinking Death. I'd love to be able to talk to my parents. They died when I was four."

Archie cursed. "Now I have to change my answer."

I bumped him with my shoulder and smiled, because I didn't feel like taking this conversation to dark places. "The High Priestess feels like a badass Card."

"Or the Magician." His eyes were distant. "I've seen Willow in action in Eden. It's pretty epic what she can do—what?"

I fixed my face. "Sorry. I was just . . . guess I'm surprised you didn't say Emperor. Figured most guys would want that one."

He scowled and shook his head. "I bet most guys would. But no, I wouldn't ask for that. Sure, I'm sure the magic power part is cool, but the rest of it is way too much."

"That's fair. Do you wish you were marked for The Coven?"

"No. I don't wish that at all." He grinned and stretched his arms and legs. "I've seen what they're up against, and it's a living nightmare."

"The grin doesn't fit that sentence."

" What the hell happened to the fence?" Archie's mom yelled out from their porch. "ARCHIE!"

"Oh, shit." He jumped up and stumbled down the steps. "I can explain!"