Chapter Ten

Five Months Earlier

The air was warm, and the stars twinkled above us as Lucas and I snuck through the trees. The safe house was far behind us, and I wondered how long it'd take Grammy to notice we were missing. We'd left a note, but I didn't think that'd stop her from worrying.

It was mid-June, and our friends had left over a week ago to visit other supernatural societies. We hoped they might learn something about the Oaken Wands, but so far, we'd received no word from them.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I took in the crisp night air. "It's nice to get out of the house."

Lucas squeezed my hand as he led me through the forest. "I love your grandmother, but I just want one night where she isn't breathing down our necks."

"Agreed!" I laughed. "She was following me everywhere yesterday. I can't believe she walked in on us when she did. Can you imagine if it was a minute later? I don't know why she wanted to vacuum our room anyway. She already vacuumed earlier this week."

"And the way she asked us what we were doing, like she didn't already know," Lucas added.

I snickered. "Grammy can handle a few hours alone without us. I told Isa to distract her. Where are you taking me?"

Lucas gestured down the mountain. "There's a waterfall not far from here. I wanted to take you there, if you're okay with it. It's outside the boundary of the wards."

I listened to the forest intently, but I heard nothing except crickets and the distant hoot of an owl. "No one knows we're here. We can cast our own ward around the waterfall once we get there, so we'll be safe."

We walked for another fifteen minutes, until we came upon a beautiful waterfall with a calm pool beneath it. The sound of trickling water was soothing, and a woodsy scent surrounded us. The light from the quarter moon glistened off the water.

We cast our ward, then turned to each other. My heart hammered as Lucas wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in closer. We hadn't been intimate in a while now, since Grammy was always right there.

My fingers roamed up his arms, and my eyes danced around his body, savoring his presence.

His hand came up to cradle my face. "I want to make love to you in this pool."

My breath caught. "Lucas, if you get me out of these clothes, you can do whatever the hell you want to me."

His lips were on mine a second later, and my fingers tangled in his hair as our bodies crashed together. He grabbed my ass, pulling me close to his erection. One hand slid under my shirt to cup my breast, and heat pooled between my thighs. He reached for the hem of my shirt to take it off.

A stick broke in the trees, startling us both. We whirled toward the sound, instinctually conjuring battle orbs at the same time. The light from our sizzling orbs reflected off a pair of eyes. The rest of the creature was cast in shadow. Whatever it was must've been within the boundary of our ward when we cast it.

A low growl emitted from the creature's throat, and it stepped forward until I could make out the features of a large feline. Lucas immediately threw himself in front of me.

"Is that a mountain lion!?" I cried, my heart hammering. I might have battle orbs to protect myself, but this creature was huge, with claws that looked razor-sharp. One mistake, and that creature could tear us both to shreds.

"Mountain lions don't live here," Lucas panicked. "That's way bigger."

It looked like an African lion, though it had no mane, so it must've been female. What the hell was a lion doing in the mountains of Connecticut?

"It looks hungry," I said warily as the lion began to pace in front of us.

"It's not getting anywhere near us," Lucas promised. The battle orb in his hand grew brighter. His voice became stern as he spoke directly to the lion. "Walk away now, or you'll be sorry."

"Lucas, it doesn't understand you," I insisted.

The lion bared its teeth, and for a moment, I thought I caught recognition in its eyes… like it did understand us.

Then the lion lunged. Lucas threw his battle orb, but it bounced off the lion's fur. She flew through the air, her claws aimed straight for his throat. Lucas created a shield around us, and the lion slammed straight into it. She stumbled back, shaking her head.

"That battle orb should've killed her!" I cried. "That's not normal."

The lion bared her teeth again, and a loud, terrifying roar erupted from her lungs. Flames burst across her fur, lighting up the night like a bonfire.

"That's because that's no normal lion!" Lucas cried.

The creature jumped at us, but I created a shield that guarded us from all angles. The lion slammed against it, unable to get through. She swiped her claws out, and red-hot fire seared the shield from all angles. It felt like the flames were covering my entire body. I cried out, and my shield fell. The pain dissipated, but the lion readied for another attack.

Lucas shoved me. "Run!"

The ward we'd created shattered, and we took off running. Lucas threw battle orbs behind us to slow the creature down.

"Maybe I can… siphon her powers," I suggested through ragged breaths.

"You're never going to get your hands on her—" Lucas's words cut off, and I whirled around to see the lion latch her jaws around his pant leg. Her fur bristled as her eyes locked on mine for a second.

"Lucas!" I screamed.

The lion dragged him backward. Lucas clawed at the ground, but he couldn't escape her hold. I shot magic at the lion, but nothing I did fazed her. She dragged Lucas through the forest, leading me onward until coming to an abrupt halt.

"Get off, you fucking—" Lucas's insult died on his tongue as the lion leapt on top of him and pressed a paw to his mouth.

I caught up with them, though I was winded. Their eyes locked. I feared if I moved, the lion would attack him again. "Lucas…?"

Slowly, the lion backed away, and Lucas got to his feet.

"She didn't hurt me," he said in astonishment. "I think she wants us to follow her."

The lion ducked her head, and I realized that I saw fear in her eyes for the first time. She hadn't come to attack us. She'd come to ask for help.

"She's a Fire lion, which means she belongs to the Elementai. Her bonded companion must be nearby," Lucas pointed out.

"All right," I said warily. "Lead the way."

The lion looked to Lucas again and nodded.

"I think she's telling us to be quiet," he said.

The lion slunk through the trees, and we followed closely behind. The sound of voices came from up ahead.

A man cruelly laughed. "The priestesses said we should take you outside the town boundaries and kill you, but there's no reason why we shouldn't have a little fun with it first. We dragged you all the way out here so that no one would hear you scream."

"You don't understand," an older man begged. "I have a research license granted to me by the United Supernatural Union. We were welcomed into Octavia Falls?—"

"No Elementai is welcome here!" another voice raged. "You should've stayed within your own borders, savage!"

"How dare you talk to my husband like that!" a woman snarled. "Now get out of our way, you withered old witches!"

We came close enough that I could finally see what was going on. A dozen Executors had surrounded a man and a woman in the woods. The woman looked to be in her forties, and the man had to be at least ten years older than her. The woman was beautiful, with long red hair, but the man wore a wrinkled shirt, and his hair was disheveled. He wore glasses and carried a large backpack.

"Who are you calling withered?" an Executor growled.

The woman threw back her head and laughed. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

She threw her hands out, and I expected magic to blast from her palms, but only a tiny flame came out. The man next to her aimed his hands at a puddle on the ground. Water droplets rose into the air, but that was it.

"What did you do to us!?" the woman seethed.

A big, burly Executor laughed maniacally. "Did the priestesses forget to mention the tea at your hotel was laced with noxite? It's a precautionary measure provided to all visitors who are not of our kind. You should've kept your nose where it belonged, and we wouldn't have to kill you."

"You wouldn't dare," the woman sneered. "Doing so would be a declaration of war against the Elementai!"

"As if they'll ever know what happened to you two," an Executor said.

I lowered my voice and whispered to Lucas. "What do we do? These are Elementai. If they're killed by witches and the tribe finds out, they'll start a war with the coven for sure."

"We have to help them. But if we kill the Executors, the priestesses will find evidence we were here," he replied.

The lion looked up at us with a desperate plea in her eyes. She'd come to find us to ask for help, which meant she didn't think she could take on this many witches at once.

The woman opened her mouth again, but her husband stopped her. "Eleanor, please. Let me handle this. Whatever the priestesses think they can charge us with, they are sorely mistaken."

The woman blew a breath. "Elliot, you're making it worse."

Her husband continued. "There must be a way we can work this out."

The burly Executor glanced at the others, then shrugged. "Yeah… I think we can work something out—at the end of a noose."

The Executors threw ropes around the couple's necks. Within a moment, they'd tossed the ends of the ropes over a tree branch and yanked, pulling the couple's feet off the ground. The sound of their strangled rasps filled the forest.

Our cover be damned. These innocent people would die if we didn't help them.

We leapt from our hiding place in the trees, and battle orbs shot from our palms in all directions. Lucas dropped two Executors at once. My orb hit one Executor in the chest, while the other missed the Executor I was aiming at.

The lion leapt from the trees and aimed her razor-sharp claws at the nearest Executor. His dying screams turned to silence as she swiped her claws across his throat.

Four down. Eight to go.

Lucas threw up a shield around us, and battle orbs ricocheted off of it. I sent deadly orbs soaring through the shield, and Lucas defended all of my attacks. My orbs bounced off the Executors' shields, spinning off into the forest.

The Executors dropped their ropes, and the couple landed hard on the ground. All together, the Executors turned their attention to the lion. Battle orbs assaulted her from all angles, and the power was too much. Magic knocked the lion off her feet, sending her flying into the base of a tree nearby.

"Naomi!" Eleanor shouted. Her cries were cut off as one of the Executors yanked back on the ropes.

The lion whimpered, before limping to her feet. Fire burst across her body again, but the Executors didn't back down. One of them walked straight up to her. He threw his hands upward as he tossed her into the sky with his telekinesis. She landed on the ground so hard that the ground sank in where she lay.

"Step aside," the burly Executor growled. He shoved the others away, and I noticed the mark of a Mortana on the back of his hand. "I'm going to rip this bitch's soul from her body and send it straight to the Abyss."

"Um… actually, it's Aiya Nocshun in Elementai culture," Elliot choked out past the noose.

His wife gasped for breath. "This isn't the time for a religious lesson. Do something, Elliot!"

"Lucas, hold the shield," I told him. "I have an idea."

I closed my eyes and focused on the magic around us. I could feel all kinds of energy signatures—the smooth energy of a Seer standing behind us, the electric sizzle of several Mentalists, the high-frequency buzz of an Alchemist, and the chaos of Mortana. I could even sense the heat coming off the lion, though I couldn't quite tap into her energy. I honed in on the Mortana and pulled his magic into me.

"What the hell?" the burly man shouted. I opened my eyes to see sparks shooting from his fingers, but the Death magic he expected never came.

"It's the Waning!" one of the others panicked.

I smirked. Not the Waning. Just a Curse Breaker.

The magic rattled around inside of me, until I couldn't contain it any longer.

"Duck on three," I warned Lucas. I shot a glance at the Elementai, but they were already on their knees. "One… two… three…"

Lucas dropped his shield, and the magic I had siphoned burst out of me all at once. A blast of energy soared over Lucas's head as he ducked, and it slammed into all the Executors at once. Their bodies fell to the ground.

"Hurry!" I shouted, racing over to help loosen the nooses around the couple's necks. "His magic was weak. I only knocked them out."

I pulled the noose over Eleanor's head, and she shrugged me off. She got to her feet and glared down at the Executors sprawled across the forest floor. "We'll take care of them."

Lucas helped Elliot stand, then stepped aside. "Be our guest."

Eleanor held her head high. "Naomi—attack!"

Naomi found her footing, and rage marred her features. She curled her lips back, then sank her fangs into the throat of the burly Executor. Blood sprayed the underbrush, and Lucas shuddered as death filled the forest.

Naomi quickly moved to the next Executor, until she had slaughtered each and every one of them. The priestesses would find their bodies, but their deaths would be attributed to an animal attack. They'd never know Lucas and I were here in the first place.

Naomi returned to Eleanor's side, licking her lips proudly. The woman patted the lion affectionately, paying no attention to the blood staining her hand.

"Thank you," Elliot said as he rubbed the bruises on his neck. "You are much kinder than the other witches we met. We could have never gained the upper hand without you."

Eleanor crossed her arms. "We wouldn't have to be thanking them if you hadn't wandered off, Elliot! I had to walk the whole town looking for you."

"I told you I was going to do research. I'm a professor. That's my job," Elliot insisted innocently, before turning to us. "I am Professor Elliot Baine, of the Hawkei tribe, and my wife is Madame Eleanor Doya. We are doing research on supernatural societies, and dare I say, I didn't realize witches took their hangings so seriously! This cultural experience was wonderful research for my book."

"Research—" Eleanor sputtered. "Ancestors' cock, Elliot, we were nearly strangled!"

"All part of the risk of being an anthropologist, my dear," Elliot said cheerfully. "What is exploration without the threat of an unavoidable, treacherous fate?"

Eleanor's chest heaved. Her fingers twitched, like she wanted to strangle him herself, but was resisting with all her might.

"By the way, I have to say that your people have a lovely museum," Elliot added. "You witches have a variety of wonderful magical artifacts on display."

I shot Lucas a questioning glance. I wasn't aware we had a museum in Octavia Falls. Lucas shrugged, like he didn't know what they were talking about.

Eleanor's lips pressed into a thin line. "You shouldn't have been able to get into the museum in the first place. The priestesses said the room was warded."

"It was warded against witches, not Elementai," Elliot said. "How was I to know? After all, the ward didn't affect me!"

"You still should have known better," Eleanor replied curtly.

Elliot turned back to us and slipped off his backpack. I noticed a blue symbol on the flap—a tear-drop shape with swirling designs in the center. He began digging through his bag. "There must be some way we can repay you."

"We have nothing to give them, Elliot," Eleanor pressed. "All you have in there is stale bread, dirty socks, and a journal I daresay is of little use to them."

Elliot gave a nervous chuckle. "About that… uh, we'll have to pick up another on our way to Malovia."

Eleanor huffed, like it was typical of her husband to misplace something so important. "We can thank them by getting as far away from Octavia Falls as possible. We'll contact the Hozho for an early pick-up and get the hell out of Connecticut. After all this, I'm sure Malovia will be much kinder."

"We can help—" Lucas started, but Eleanor cut in.

"You've helped enough. We don't wish to bother you further." She'd clearly made up her mind. "Unless you have a car that can take us far away from here, so we can meet our transport ship at a safer location."

Grammy's car was back at the house, but it didn't matter if these people were innocent—we weren't leading them back there.

Lucas shook his head. "I'm sorry, we don't. We've been hiking all night."

It was a small lie, but one that ensured our safety.

I stepped forward. "If you ever find yourself back in the area, we'll help in any way we can. I'm Nadine, and this is Lucas."

Eleanor held her chin high. "Believe me, we will not be back. Come now, Elliot. We must begin the trek to the nearest town."

Eleanor strode off with her Familiar at her side. Her husband scrambled behind them, though he turned back to bow his head and thank us again.

They disappeared into the trees.

I turned to Lucas as my heart rate finally settled. "Grammy's going to kill us."

Lucas took my hand, and we started back up the mountain. "Not if we don't tell her. I can hear the lecture now. You could've been caught!"

I chuckled. "Yeah, by you, Grammy. For the millionth time."

Lucas smirked, though he looked more relieved than anything. "I think we better keep this to ourselves for now."

"Right," I agreed. "It'll be our little secret."

* * *

I recountedthe story to the others, and Chloe's jaw hung open as she listened.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded.

"We didn't tell anyone," I said. "Grammy would've killed us for going past the ward boundaries. We never left the safe house after that. Everyone was safe at the time."

Lucas thumbed through the journal. "The priestesses ordered the Executors to kill the Elementai couple after they'd already been guaranteed security in Octavia Falls by the United Supernatural Union. It's not unusual for us to get visiting professors now and then. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the professor's wife said he'd wandered off, and an Executor mentioned he'd been sticking his nose in places it didn't belong. He must've stumbled across something he wasn't supposed to."

"Lilian must've taken his journal before she ordered the Executors to kill them," I noted. "What does it say?"

Lucas turned to a page dated the middle of June. "We have reached Octavia Falls and settled into our hotel room. The staff here is lovely and even offered us tea at check-in brewed by the best Alchemists in town! I feel relaxed already. I can't wait to try the witches' famous maple syrup at breakfast. First, I hope to make a visit to their college campus. I hear their library is wonderful."

Lucas flipped to the next page. "The school is smaller than I anticipated. It appears to be in need of some serious renovations, but I suppose the cracks in the walls lend themselves to the centuries-old charm. I was unable to find my way to the library, but I did find a lovely museum—or perhaps an archives room? The double doors leading me here are carved beautifully with Miriamic symbols, though there was no label on the door. Either way, I have found myself among antique Miriamic artifacts I would love to study further. Items I see from where I sit include books on various supernatural races, potions vials, wands with Miriamic religious symbols carved into them, a large cauldron, and…"

"And… what?" Chloe asked.

Lucas shook his head. "That's it. It just cuts off here."

He showed us the page. I saw that there was a long line of ink stretched across the paper, as if someone had yanked the journal from his hands before he could finish writing.

"He's referring to the Oaken Wands," Lucas stated. "I know it."

Chloe looked thoughtful. "That makes sense. It's too obvious to keep them at the Imperium headquarters, and the school is always going to have Executors defending it."

Talia furrowed her brow. "But where in the school? That doesn't sound like the archives room at school. I've been in the archives, and it's just a bunch of shelves of books and old newspapers."

"He describes double doors with Miriamic symbols," I pointed out. "It's Headmistress Verla's old office. Elliot didn't walk into a museum at all. He just thought he did."

"Then we have enough information to take a shot at this," Grant said. "We could get the Oaken Wands while the Executors are still at the festival. Tonight's our best shot."

"Let's go before our spell wears off," Chloe stated.

Lucas lifted his hands to create a portal to take us to the school. A beat passed, but nothing happened.

"The school is warded against portals," he said. "We can't portal directly in or out of the school. Nadine and I can try to work together to get past the wards, but they're strong, and that's going to take time we don't have. It took us weeks to work through the Malovian wards before we could open a portal to get Grant and Talia through the last time."

"Get us as close as you can," I decided. "The second Lilian returns and finds Mandy and Tate missing, the Executors will swarm town looking for us. We have to move quickly."

Lucas formed a portal leading into the trees surrounding Miriam College. We stepped through, and the portal shut behind us. Slowly, I crept through the trees, keeping my eyes on the school. A chill breeze swept through the trees, but other than that, the grounds were quiet.

"Looks safe," I remarked. "Come on."

We crept across the grass and snuck into the school. The outside of the mansion looked the same as it always had, apart from some construction material near the ballroom entrance. Inside, everything was different.

The last time we were here, the school was under attack. The space-bending spell that expanded the dorms and classrooms had been collapsing, and we'd barely gotten out. The room we entered wasn't at all what I remembered the Main Foyer looking like. It had the same red carpet and black walls, and the painting of Mother Miriam still hung above the mantle, but the stairs were closer to the door, and there were fewer sconces.

Grant spun around to take it all in. "This looks like a smaller version of the Main Foyer."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "That's because it is."

"We don't have time to marvel at it." I gestured for them to follow me. "Come on."

We started down the hall, and I counted turns until we reached where I thought Verla's office was—except the hall that was supposed to be there wasn't.

"It should be right here." I ran my hands over the flush wall, as if expecting the doorway to be concealed by magic.

"We can't expect the school to be laid out the same way we're used to," Lucas said. "Not since the space-bending spell collapsed. They had to change things in order to rebuild. I think her office is probably back the way we came."

Footsteps sounded down a nearby hall, and we quickly ducked into an alcove. The cats scurried behind us, and Isa hid beneath my cloak. I held my breath as I peeked around the corner. Two Executors walked past the end of the hall.

"I hate patrol duty," one of them complained. "We should be down at the Festival of Chosen."

"Don't say that," the other sneered. "This job is an honor."

Their voices faded down the hall, and my heart rate slowed.

"Looks like we aren't alone," I whispered. "We have to be careful."

I cocked a finger, and the others followed. I threw glances up and down the halls, but we didn't see anyone else.

Navigating the school wasn't as easy as I thought, because things weren't in the same places I was used to. The halls were narrower, and there were fewer doorways than I remembered. We got turned around a few times until we reached a hall that looked familiar.

"I think this is it," I said. We turned once more, and the double doors of Verla's office came into view. My heart lifted. We were so close.

We took a step closer, until my magic slammed into something dangerous. Instinct took over and I threw my arms out to protect my friends. "Stop!"

They all jumped back.

Slowly, I approached the doors, but I didn't touch them. Magic pulsed through the hall, and a high-pitched note rang in my ears. "There's a strong ward here, a hell of a lot stronger than the one at Lilian's house. Several witches cast this."

"Can you break it?" Talia asked.

"It's going to be tough," I admitted. As I reached out, my magic recoiled on instinct. "The ward is strong, so transforming that magic into something else like a battle orb could bring the whole school down on us. Not to mention breaking it would alert the priestesses. I'll have to try something else."

Lucas eyed me warily. "What did you have in mind?"

"In theory, Curse Breakers can absorb magic," I said. "I'm going to do that."

Lucas grabbed my hand before I could move. "You've never done that before. You don't even know if it will work."

"I know it's our only option," I insisted. "If I can hold on to the ward without breaking it until we get out of here, we can escape without alerting the priestesses. We need those Wands, Lucas. You have to at least let me try."

"How confident are you in this?" he asked.

"Enough to give it a shot," I pressed.

Lucas stepped back. "All right. Do what you need to do."

"We should all work together," I suggested. "Lend me your powers, and I'll use it to get past the ward, then take that power inside of me. The stronger our magic, the easier it will be to overpower the ward."

We all grabbed hands, and my brows knitted in concentration. I gathered my friends' magic together and manipulated it, directing it at the ward. The ward resisted, pushing against me. My magic recoiled, and my body shook as I fought harder. Every muscle in my body tensed, and a whirlwind swept through the hall as magic clashed together.

The doors began to glow an angry red. My dark blue magic pushed against it, and it took everything in me to keep the spell alive. My arms grew weak, and my breaths became shallow. It was like trying to push over a brick wall. The cats approached the door and began scratching at it.

"Get back!" I warned them.

"Maybe we should stop," Lucas said nervously.

"No. I've got this," I insisted.

I searched the ward for weaknesses, until my magic brushed up against an unsteady edge. Something within me snapped, and I managed to find my way inside the ward. The door began to glow a bright blue. My magic entangled with the ward, and I drew backward, dragging the magic toward me.

The magic was heavy, like a dark sludge swirling in my gut. All magic felt different to me, and I could tell the priestesses hadn't cast this ward with the intent to protect what was inside. Their ill intentions were designed to hurt anyone who tried to get past. This spell wasn't cast out of love, but out of hate.

A sharp pain twisted my stomach, and I gagged.

"Nadine!" Lucas cried.

I squeezed his hand tighter. "I've almost got it."

I gritted my teeth. The pain in my gut spread to my extremities, feeling like tiny blades slicing into my muscles. I tried not to let it show. I couldn't let Lucas stop me—not when we were this close. We had one shot at this, and I wasn't leaving Octavia Falls without the Oaken Wands in hand.

I yanked harder, and the blue magic lighting up the door funneled into me, until the glow subsided completely. "I did it!"

Chloe stepped in front of the doors. "We don't know how long Nadine can hold that magic. We need to move our asses and get out of here, because right now Nadine's a ticking bomb."

Chloe placed her hands on the door handles and flung the doors open. Inside, shelves were filled with all kinds of books, and potion vials shimmered around the room. On Verla's desk next to a large cauldron stood two display cases that housed none other than the Oaken Wands.

I leaned against Lucas, and together, the five of us stepped into the room.

A high-pitched squeal assaulted my ears, so loud that it brought me to my knees. My hands clapped over my ears, and I looked to my friends to see them doing the same. Lucas's eyes went wide, and his lips moved, though I couldn't hear what he was saying.

The priestesses' ward wasn't the only thing keeping other witches out. They'd cast some sort of alarm spell over the room. Of fucking course. The priestesses wouldn't cast just one spell over this door. They'd make multiple in case someone managed to break their ward, and I should've realized it sooner. The noise rattled my bones, and the whole building seemed to shake. I couldn't get to my feet even if I wanted to.

The pain permeating my body turned to absolute horror as a darkness crept over the walls, enveloping the room. For a moment, I saw nothing but the shadows, and I felt nothing except an icy-cold chill. Ghostly moans could be heard over the alarm, and that's when I realized this wasn't an alarm system at all.

It was a curse.

My friends shot spells across the room, but it did no good. A window shattered and the wind from outside quickly swept in, swirling around us.

The eerie shadows closed in on us. They weren't anything like spirits I'd seen before. These shadows crept across the walls, as if they could only stalk their prey in obscurity.

Long, spindly fingers slithered from the wall to the carpet, then slowly up my leg. I tried to scream, but my voice couldn't be heard over the ringing in my ears. The spirit's frigid touch turned my skin to ice. The shadowy hand inched up my body, curling around my throat.

My scream died on my tongue as my airways constricted. Darkness entered the corners of my vision, and I tilted my head to see that my friends were suffering the same fate. Each of us had been rendered immobile, and in moments, the curse would strangle us. Dark energy turned my friends' blood black, and inky veins spider-webbed across their skin. The cats tried to fight back, clawing at the walls, but more shadowy figures emerged and held them down.

I had to stop this. The ward I held within me was dark—cast with the intention to harm. And that's exactly what it would do.

I released the magic, and the sound of shattering glass filled the room. We were blasted backward. The ward turned solid as it broke, sending shards of glass raining down on us. I threw my hands up, but it was too late. The glass sliced into my face, and my friends cried out as the remnants of the ward cut into their skin.

I landed hard on my back and gasped as I tried to get to my feet. I could hardly find my fingers, let alone my legs. I lifted my gaze to the shadowy figures to see they had grown bigger than before. The temperature in the room had dropped even more as they continued to descend upon us. I glanced around at my friends to see them lying on the floor, blood dripping down their faces. The spell hadn't hurt the ghostly figures, but it had harmed my friends.

The shadows were back on us in a mere moment. I seemed to freeze beneath their touch as the shadows surrounded me. They felt even stronger than before.

I realized then that the shadows only fed on the dark energy of the ward. Trying to harm them with the priestesses' magic had only made them stronger. There was only one way to cast out the darkness—and that was to outshine it.

Protection magic swirled out of me, appearing as a glowing orb that lit the entire room. The orb expanded, splitting into five beams of light that I aimed at the shadowed figures. The spirit's hold on me tightened. I clawed at my neck, but my fingers met nothing but air. I gripped the shadowy magic with my Curse Breaker powers, but it quickly slipped from my grasp.

I couldn't do this alone.

My fingers trembled as I reached out for Lucas on one side of me and Chloe on the other. They saw what I was doing and desperately reached back, until the five of us were holding hands.

Protection magic poured into me, causing my whole body to glow like the light of the sun. The screeching of the ghosts intensified, until the magic came bursting out of me. Like a shield exploding, our magic swept across the room, blasting the spirits back. Pained screams filled the air… then faded.

I slumped to my hands and knees, gulping in greedy breaths. My friends were on their knees panting, but they were still here, thank the Goddess.

Lucas crawled over to me and placed a hand on my back. "We did it," he rasped.

Isa ran over, rubbing her head on my chin. At first, I thought she was trying to comfort me, until she pushed again, then let out a low growl.

"We have to get moving," I said. "I broke the priestesses' ward, which means they know we're here. They could be here at any moment."

Grant and Talia scrambled to their feet and hurried over to the desk at the center of the room. Grant picked up the cauldron and lifted it above the displays that held the Seer and Alchemy Wands. Something made him pause.

"Uh… anyone else recognize this?" Grant asked.

We'd been in such a hurry, I hadn't had a chance to look at it closely. Now that I did, I realized the handles were twisted into the shape of branches.

"It's the Crock of Death," I realized.

"We should take that with us, too," Lucas suggested.

Grant nodded, then brought the cauldron down to smash the Wand displays open. He quickly subconjured the crock, then reached through the broken glass. Talia took the Seer Wand, while Grant snatched up the Alchemy Wand. The wands glowed at the ends, and magic swirled up their arms. Matching tunes filled the room.

"They're the real thing," Grant said. "I can feel it."

Relief flooded through me. We had worked so hard for those Wands, only for the priestesses to manipulate them out of our grasp. Now that we had them again, they couldn't use them to hurt our people.

We quickly turned to leave, but Chloe stopped us.

"Hang on. There might be other things here we can use against the priestesses." Chloe lifted a scroll she found lying on a table. "Look at these. They're some sort of decree records… They're making new laws. The following laws are set forth by the Imperium Council, led by revelation from Mother Miriam. It is imperative the coven follow her guidance to protect the town from outside threats."

"They're liars," I growled. "I doubt they've talked to her, because I have, and this isn't what she'd want."

Chloe curled up her nose. "These scrolls talk as if the coven can't be trusted to know what's best for themselves. Compliance is the only way to fulfill Mother Miriam's will. This document details the next stages of their plan. They're going to implement a law that says if you're not teaching your children the ways of the Chosen, you will be charged with religious abuse. People who haven't joined the Chosen will have their children removed from their home, so that the priestesses can raise the kids under their own religious doctrine."

"That's sick!" Lucas raged. "They can't take innocent children from good homes."

"What is this?" Grant sneered. "Some sort of genocide?"

I shook my head. "During genocides, the leaders mark the oppressed, like they did in the Hawkei Civil War. The priestesses are marking themselves and their followers, because we're fighting a different force here. The marking of the Chosen is a ritual initiation, which means all those people willing to go through with it will agree with and support the priestesses. They aren't going to bother questioning the priestesses removing children from good homes, because they're so far into the ideology that they'll be the ones to do it for them. They'll turn in their neighbors, not because they're afraid of what will happen if they don't, but because they actually believe they're doing the right thing."

"This is wrong and evil," Lucas snarled.

"That's not the worst of it…" Talia's features turned paper white as she picked up another stack of papers. "It's drawings of the Mentalist Wand… and pictures of the Abyss."

Talia turned the drawings toward us, and my stomach plummeted to my toes. The sketches showed the Mentalist Wand, the twisted tree symbol carved onto the handle. It appeared to be falling into a glowing red pit, with shadowed creatures lurking in the background.

Lucas snatched the drawing from her hands, terror filling his wide eyes. "This looks like the Wand falling into the demon's pit. It's got to be a recreation of a Seer's vision, which means the priestesses know where to find the Wand. I don't understand how they managed to get this information when the Wands can't be tracked."

"A Seer could've been looking into our past, or Professor Leto's, and seen what played out that night," I pointed out. "The Mentalist Wand could've appeared in the vision, even if it can't be tracked on its own."

"Do you think they've been to the Abyss yet?" Grant wondered.

Talia flipped through more pages. "According to these notes, they've tried summoning demons for answers, but no one is willing to strike a deal with them after what happened to Professor Leto."

"I'm surprised they're willing to work with demons at all after what he did," Chloe said. "He was uncontrollable. These women don't take kindly to being out of control."

"Which means they're going to be looking for other options, just like we are," I pointed out. "We have to get to the Abyss before the priestesses do. With all the coven's power of mind manipulation in their hands, they could do more harm to the coven than ever before."

Lucas crushed the drawing in his hands. "Then let's get moving."

We hurried out of the room and down the hall. We were met with nothing but empty halls as we turned the corners?—

Until we came to a screeching halt in the Main Foyer. Our cats hissed and backed away. Ten Executors stood in a row, blocking the doors. Several of them held wands, while others had battle orbs at the ready.

Lucas grabbed the back of my cloak and yanked me in the opposite direction. We ducked down the hallway a moment before the battle orbs exploded right where I'd been standing.

Lucas put an index finger to his lips. "Shh… they'll forget they ever saw us."

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," an Executor taunted.

Chloe's voice trembled, which was so unlike her. "I gave everything I had to that last spell. When we cast out those spirits, our disguise broke."

"We can run, but we don't know where the exits are anymore," Grant pointed out. "The Executors won't hesitate to hurt us."

Lucas shook his head. "We don't have to run. We have two Oaken Wands. What do they have? An over-inflated sense of ego?"

"If we face them, they'll die," Talia stated. She wasn't protesting, more or less stating a fact. She wanted to make sure we were okay with that.

"We're in the middle of a war," Chloe said. "We can't keep pretending that we can spare the people who want us dead. Let's kill these fuckers."

Footsteps approached slowly. "Come out and face us," an Executor sneered. "Unless you're too scared."

The others laughed, as if they actually believed we'd be scared of them.

I exchanged a glance with Lucas, and he nodded, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. "We won't kill innocent people," I said. "So we'll give them a choice."

Lucas's voice remained steady as he shouted around the corner. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. Fight us, and you'll die. We're giving you the option to walk away now."

"Or what?" one of them laughed. "You'll cast a little curse on us? We'll kill each of your friends one by one, saving the Curse Breaker for last, so she can watch. There will be no trial this time."

Lucas had heard enough. He grabbed his wand and leapt around the corner. I barely blinked before a powerful battle spell erupted out of the end of his wand. It connected with an Executor's stomach and blasted him off his feet and straight through the front doors of the mansion. The wood crumbled, and I was certain the Executor had to be dead from the blow.

My friends and I quickly followed, and our cats hissed as spells shot all throughout the room. Battle orbs smashed into the front of Lucas's shield and ricocheted back at the Executors. Chloe threw her hands apart, and her telekinesis sent the Executors flying into the walls.

We ran for the door. We were barely two paces away when one of the Executors on the ground reached out and grabbed the hem of my cloak. I tripped and caught myself on my palms, then promptly spun around and slammed my foot into his face. He reeled back the same time a female Executor lunged for me.

She landed on the ground beside me. I caught sight of an eye tattooed on her skin as her arm curled around my neck, pinning my back to her front. Physically, she was strong, like the kind of girl who'd been on the wrestling team. She certainly knew how to put someone into a headlock.

"Tell me where you and your little friends have been hiding!" she sneered.

I gasped for breath, and past my panic, my Curse Breaker powers sensed her magic invading my mind. She was trying to read my thoughts, and terror rocked through me. I tried to push her out of my mind, but she only pressed further. If this was how I died, I wasn't taking any of my friends with me. I thought of anything but the safe house, but I felt her creeping past each wall I tried to throw up to block her.

"Get off her, you bitch!" Talia cried. She leapt in front of me, and the end of the Seer Wand began to glow. Slowly, I felt the Seer's magic leave my mind. Talia kicked the girl in the face as hard as she could, and she loosened her hold on me.

The other Executor was already back on his feet, and a spell crackled in his palm, aimed at me. I barely had a moment to process it before Lucas jumped on him. He tackled the Executor, and they stumbled into the wall near the fireplace. The Executor lifted his crackling hand to deliver the deadly blow, but Lucas was faster than he was. My husband grabbed the Executor by the head and smashed his face into the mantle.

Blood spurted everywhere, spraying across Mother Miriam's painting and down Lucas's cloak. The Executor slumped to the ground, and blood trickled onto the floor.

Lucas heaved a breath as he stared down at the man's unmoving form. He glanced to his hands for a beat, before turning his gaze to the painting of Mother Miriam. I didn't think he could believe what he'd done—he'd just killed a man with his bare hands.

The painting began to glow white around the edges, and I swore to the Goddess I saw the painting of Mother Miriam move. Her eyes turned down toward Lucas, and she gave the slightest of nods.

I got to my feet and reached out for Lucas, but he barely noticed my touch. "She chose me as an agent of death," he said hollowly. "She wanted me to protect you."

"You did the right thing," I told him.

"You killed him!" an Executor shouted. He had to be an Alchemist, because he conjured a potion vial and threw it at our friends. I caught sight of a shimmering green liquid inside, which I'd seen before. It was a potion meant to explode when the vial was shattered, and it was headed straight toward Grant.

"Grant!" I cried.

He'd already seen it. Grant raised the Alchemy Wand, and the magic siphoned out of the potion a second before it hit the ground. The potion sizzled and smoked as the liquid seeped into the floor, but it failed to explode as intended.

I quickly assessed the other Executors and realized there was only one Seer and one Alchemist in the group. Grant and Talia siphoned their powers, but the others aimed deadly spells at us.

We ducked, then shot back spells of our own. One of my spells caught an Executor in the leg, and I heard the snap of bone. His scream echoed off the walls of the Main Foyer as he fell to the ground.

A spell hit Grant in the chest, and he was blasted off his feet. Talia and I rushed to help him stand. Before we could get anywhere, an Executor jumped in front of us, separating us from Chloe and Lucas.

"Nadine!" Lucas cried. He aimed a spell at the Executor. It hit him, and he went down, but several more had closed in.

I cast a shield around myself, Grant, and Talia. Spells slammed into my shield from all angles. Grant and Talia quickly took my hands, and we fortified the shield with our collective power. It held, but Chloe and Lucas were cornered on the other side of the foyer.

"What do you say?" one of the Executors laughed maniacally. "Shall we have a bit of fun with them before they die?"

The ghostly figure of the man Lucas had blasted through the front doors appeared in front of us. An Executor with a skull tattoo on his arm flicked his wrist, and the ghost swept forward at his command, flying straight into Lucas. The ghost disappeared, as if Lucas's body had absorbed him.

At the same time, Chloe halted mid-step. At first, I thought it was because she was shocked by what she'd seen. Then I noticed her eyes had gone glossy. She didn't appear as herself as she took a step toward Lucas. He turned toward her slowly with a twisted smirk on his face. It wasn't his own; I knew that for certain.

A woman with the mark of a Mentalist on her hand laughed. "A possessed reaper versus my puppet. Which will win?"

I realized then that the woman had invaded Chloe's mind, and she was controlling her now. In the same moment, the Mortana had ordered the ghost of the dead Executor to possess my husband's body.

Chloe gritted her teeth, though she continued to approach Lucas. "Get out of my head, bitch."

"Ooh," the Executor laughed. "She's a fighter. Let's see how well you fight our friend."

Chloe and Lucas lunged at each other. The Executors' laughter filled the air as the two engaged in a fistfight created for the Executors' sick entertainment. Purple bruises broke out across their faces, and Chloe was forced to curl her fingers around Lucas's neck.

Rage filled my entire body, and I didn't even have to form a spell in my hand to cast a curse. I set my gaze on the Mentalist who was controlling Chloe and aimed all my anger at her. I wanted her to stop hurting my friends. I wanted her to die.

Dark magic crept over the Mentalist's skin, turning her features an ashen gray. The veins in her neck turned to black as my killing curse overtook her body. She let out a pained cry and stumbled back a few steps. Executors threw their hands over their ears as her piercing scream filled the air.

I felt it when my curse overtook her form entirely, because the magic reached a peak. The curse exploded and took her body with it. Her form turned to ash, and her screams died out as the curse reduced her to nothing but dust where she'd been standing.

Chloe gasped as she gained control of her body once again. She let go of Lucas's throat, and she took several steps back.

Lucas pursued her with that twisted smirk. He still wasn't himself. I turned to the Mortana who had cast the spell that possessed my husband. I intended to cast a curse on him as well, but I never got the chance.

"Lucas, you can fight this," Chloe said.

The smirk wiped from Lucas's face, and he gritted his teeth instead. A spectral form appeared around him, like he was forcing the ghost out of his body. The ghost fought against him, until Lucas let out a primal scream, and the apparition separated from him entirely.

The ghost swept across the room, aimed straight for the Mortana who cast the spell. The ghost screeched and slammed into him, knocking the Executor off his feet. He went flying into the wall and hit his head so hard he was knocked out.

"Lucas, how did you do that!?" Chloe cried.

Lucas gasped for breath, and sweat dripped down his brow. "Don't know. Something to do with my death powers, I guess. Let's go!"

I ran toward Lucas, and Talia and Grant followed. Executors pursued us, but Lucas conjured a shield that held as we fled toward the front doors. A powerful spell landed against his shield and bounced off. Magic exploded against the wall, shattering one of the windows. Another spell blasted through the doorway. I saw a flash of light out of the corner of my eye, then heard the sound of Lucas's shield shattering.

I whirled around to see four Executors standing in the doorway, their wands raised and ready for another attack. I didn't take a moment to think about it. Something within me snapped, and I siphoned their magic for my own before they could cast a spell. Power burst out of me.

Magic swept up the stairway in the blink of an eye, encompassing the entire foyer in the blast. Windows shattered, and walls crumbled. Everything happened so quickly that the Executors didn't get the chance to scream. They were killed instantly, their bloody bodies falling into a heap at the front of the school.

Building materials rained down over the front steps, and the earth beneath us rumbled. I sank to my knees as my head spun. Lucas's features swam in front of me.

"Nad, are you okay?" He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. I was relieved to see him on his feet.

My hands shook. "I wasn't going to let them hurt my family."

"Never," Lucas promised as he wrapped me in his arms.

"Time to go!" Grant said in a rush.

My vision steadied, and I looked toward the front gates to find Executors pouring onto the school grounds. There had to be over a hundred Executors, all coming for our heads.

"Run!" Lucas shouted. He grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet, and we took off running.

Spells rained down on us. Lucas threw up a shield, but it was only enough to deflect battle spells. My feet swept out from under me, and I felt the magic of a Mentalist lift me off the ground until I was dangling upside down.

Chloe grabbed my hands, and I felt her magic fight against my attacker. The magic levitating me snapped as Chloe overpowered the spell. I landed hard on my stomach and scrambled to my feet before I could catch my breath. I took off running beside my friends.

The Oaken Wands glowed as Grant and Talia siphoned magic from the Executors. We skirted around the side of the building and sprinted toward the trees.

"Keep running!" Lucas shouted. "We aren't outside the ward yet."

We ran through the trees. Spells whizzed by our heads and hit tree trunks beside us. They were closing in on us—and fast.

"Get ready for the portal," Lucas warned.

Talia shot a panicked glance behind her shoulder. "They can't follow us through, can they?"

Lucas dodged around a tree, and his feet faltered beneath him. "Not if I take us to the one place they can't go."

The heaviness of the ward surrounding the school passed through me, and I felt lighter as we broke through the other side of the ward. "Now, Lucas!" I cried.

Grant and Talia aimed their wands behind us. Powerful magic blasted out of the ends of the Oaken Wands, causing an explosion on the other side of the forest. Screams filled the air.

Lucas grabbed my hand and lifted the other palm. Magic surged through us both, and a portal bloomed in front of us. I paid no attention to what was on the other side. I trusted my husband whole-heartedly, so when he told me to jump, I did.

The cats yowled as we tumbled through the portal. I landed on solid ground and rolled across the dirt. When I came to a stop, I saw pine trees towering above me. The sound of a stream trickled nearby. We had landed in a coniferous forest that appeared to be thousands of years old. It had been the dead of night when we left, but now I could see the first of the morning sun rays peeking over the horizon.

I shivered as a cold chill spread across my skin. Snow dusted the ground, and through a bit of sparse trees, I spotted mountains in the distance. Magic pulsed through the air around me, but it felt different from the witch magic I was used to—though I couldn't quite put my finger on the strange sensation.

I pushed myself to my elbows and glanced around. Remnants of giant shells from hatched eggs scattered the area, along with bones that were so large they could've belonged to dinosaurs. I dropped my gaze to the dirt, where I saw wolf paw prints that were larger across than my hand. Large feathers that could've belonged to a griffin were spread everywhere. In the distance, I heard the sound of a dragon's roar.

I took a moment to catch my breath. The silence filling the air told me we were safe, though my pulse still pounded in my ears. Lucas immediately cast a shield around us, and his gaze darted around the forest to check if we were safe.

"Where are we?" Chloe asked.

"The one place the priestesses and the Executors are scared to go," Lucas said in a dark tone. "Malovia… the home of the fae."