Broken (The Immortal Coven Book 1) (12 page)

My head shifted to the woman at the other head of the table. “And you, I know you are all on this kick of making sure we protect our family and loved ones from the horrendous monsters that could potentially suck the lives right out of us, but you’re daughter is very much alive and needs your love and attention as well.”

You are crossing a line, Celia! 
Dmitri warned.
I’m almost there, just stop while you are ahead.

Valerie stood up, the chair scooting back several inches behind her. “You have no clue of what you are talking about. We, as mothers, have taken an oath, one that we didn’t all come by willfully, but have been faithful to said oath. We have placed every measurable effort to protect our legacy as well as the longevity of this coven. Love…..I Love my daughter with every fiber of my being, and because of that love I must make the choice every day to either put her in the line of fire or keep her at arm’s length.” She shuffled her purse off from the chair rail and put it on her shoulder.  “Your mother chose the opposite and look at what happened. Now you are an orphan who knows nothing about anything, seems to me a little thought into your argument is in order.” She turned around and stormed out of Olivia’s house.

The front door creaked open and slammed shut. The rest of us sitting at the table were waiting for the windows to rattle some more.

I got her, but you need to apologize. 
Dmitri added.

The words were stuck in my throat. I wanted to apologize to the rest of the women sitting at the table but I was holding back emotions that had been sitting just under the surface of my resolve for over a month. I’d held on to them so tight that when I least expected, they were grazed by a catapult of ammunition. Valerie’s words did more than hurt; they forced me into defense mode, a manner in which I didn’t have much practice.

“I guess that is the end of that meeting.” Maura turned to Olivia, half heartedly smiling at my aunt.

“No, please don’t go. She will cool off and be back in no time. I’m sure of it.” Olivia attempted to soothe.

“How can you be so sure?” Gloria asked, looking from Olivia back to me.

Dmitri is outside making his attempt to calm her. I could sense his presence, his nature too, calming me back into a state of compromise. Was that his purpose, to make it so that I could see clearly enough when doing magic?

“Valerie knows what we have to do. She understands that none of this is Celia’s fault.”

“Celia, honey, come sit by me.” Jezabel suggested.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Jensen. In the short time I’ve been here, Anabel has been absolutely wonderful to me. I understand now why I feel connected to her.”

In mid sentence, Valerie and Dmitri walked quietly into the kitchen.

“Lisa, more so,” I directed at Valerie. “I feel a very real appreciation towards them. It makes sense that it would be because they are sister in a way that I never had before.”

Valerie stood facing me, her expression stone-like. The blue of her eyes heated with frustration that she couldn’t deplete.

“I’m sorry for attacking you; I seem to have grown a stronger connection to your daughter than my actual coven sister.” I tried to apologize to Valerie.

Words never escaped her lips. She nodded and found her way back to the kitchen table, the tension in the room still too high for comfort, however.

At that point, my eyes met Dmitri’s and he threw me a soft wayward smile. His simple gesture calmed the inner storm in my system that had been brewing for the past 10 minutes.

See, I knew you could play nice.

And with that, I couldn’t help but return his smile.

Jezabel broke the silence, “First and foremost, we must convene a counsel of the whole coven. We’ve already decided upon that being the first step. While preparations are being made, we must individually study our history and see what solutions can be had. If none can be found, we must summon the one.”

“She frowns upon such action.” Gloria added, her tone echoing in the kitchen as it bore as an obvious warning.

“If it turns out to be the only way, then we must do what must be done.” Valerie quickly retorted.

“May I suggest meditation and study until we meet again then, ladies?” Dmitri spoke to the group, his voice proper and very ancient sounding.

Everyone departed, hugging one another, even including me in the goodbyes.

“I want you to know I heard what you said, and I’ll take it into consideration. I had never thought Anabel would feel my absence the way you see it through your eyes.” Jezabel whispered into my ear as she hugged me goodbye.

When she pulled away, she smiled at me and looked at me in wonder. “You are so much like your mother. I’m sorry you have lost her so young.”

The tears tried to build up but I managed to swallow them right back before they could gloss my eyes. “Thank you,” was all I could manage.

She must have realized what she said struck a chord, and pulled me in for a hug.

Olivia didn’t say a word after she closed the door behind them. She took one look at Dmitri and me standing next to each other at the entrance and walked past us in to the kitchen.

“What was that all about?” Dmitri asked me, hearing his voice a nice change.

“You really need to stop interrupting my thoughts dude.”

“Why would I stop? I like being on your mind.”

My hand reached out and smacked his shoulder, “Silly, silly boy!”

His arm reached out and he caught my hand, “I’m serious though, Celia.” He sighed.

Was it something I even wanted to know more about? Should I even ask, why?  I mean, me, of all the people in the world.

“Where did you put the book? I should probably take a look at it. I knew your mother for a long time. I’m sure she would have written something down, if Olivia says she had come up with a way to vanquish the Domskabi.”

“It’s upstairs.” I turned and found myself leading him upstairs to my room.

I opened the white wooden door into my room and walked half way in before turning to see what he looked like standing in a place no other male had been.

“Nice curtains.” He mumbled with a grin spread across his face.

Dark blue curtains….he would say something about the plainest object in my room.

“Thanks. Blue is my favorite color. Olivia tried to make me as comfortable as possible, I suppose.”

Turning around, I went straight for the book. It was under my dresser, which didn’t happen to touch the floor all the way on the bottom. When I realized that the opening was just about the same thickness as my book, I felt it was the best place to put something that wasn’t meant to be out, but also not hidden, like Aunt Olivia had with her hiding spell.

“You should keep it better hidden than that, Celia.” Dmitri warned, sitting on the corner of my bed, just as I turned around.

Seeing him there, slightly unnerved my calm demeanor.

“I didn’t want to hide it completely since I was still using it.”

“Yes, I understand that, but you must realize that you are not the only one who can use magic to find an object.” He reached out for the book, waiting for me to hand it over. “This book contains spells and knowledge direct from your lineage, and considering your lineage, I would take special care not to let it fall into any other hands.”

It’s in your hands as we speak.

My eyes met his as the defiance in my thought caught him.

“Yes, but you see, sweet Celia, my hands were specifically chosen to protect you.” He said, his face surprised by my use of thought on purpose to bait him.

He did raise a question, however.

“What do you mean, specifically chosen?” I asked as I sat next to him at the foot of my bed.

Our bodies turned towards each other. “At the start of it all, I was just a boy whose mother dabbled in the craft.” He started, the sigh escaping his mouth as if recalling his mother. “She became friends with your ancestor, Ciara, and even studied the craft with her. Their bond grew as they learned from the ancient world and all that it provided.”

He opened my book to the very beginning and ran his hand across the symbol inscribed on the inside of the leather cover. “They created this symbol when I was just a boy. It signified, to them, eternity.” 

His hand reached out towards my chest and his fingers touched the pendant on my necklace. “That symbol, means a long life, filled with strength, and a home your magical heart will always have.”

I detected the sadness behind his voice, and a haunting sensation came over me, “Ciara is the sacrificed one, your mother’s friend.”

“She was, she is.”

“So what happened?”

“A stranger came to our village one afternoon, in the broad daylight and killed 3 girls in cold blood. It was punishment for not having joined their coven. He promised more bloodshed if they continued to deny him their power.”

Dmitri took a deep breath, recalling the events.

“Ciara, riddled with guilt because one of the girls had been her niece, swore vengeance against the man. She formed a circle of women with supernatural gifts. It wasn’t just to create a coven of witches. No, Ciara had thought long and hard on how she would protect those she had grown to love.”

Dmitri turned the first page of my book, to an image of a circle that never ends. The image looked as though it had been enchanted because the image continued on in a strange fashion. 

“Each witch took a protector, a supernatural soul mate. While the magic of the witch was intact and immortal, so would be the protector. Each new witch would have a succession, as nature would provide, but timeless would we stay.

My eyes met Dmitri’s and I realized why I had been haunted by my thoughts of the growing attraction towards him.

“So I will grow old and die and you will live forever.” It didn’t come out as a question, but the question was there.

“You are my 23
rd
witch in your lineage, Celia.”

My head fell low and it dawned on me he’d accepted this life. “Why did you do it?” I asked him, plainly.

“I didn’t want to lose my mother, and I promised her I would protect Ciara’s legacy.”

“I don’t understand. Your mother was one of the witches, I mean, you would lose her eventually? Does that mean you are related to one of the witch lines?”

“I am a part of Valerie’s family tree, one of her ancestors, yes.”

“So why aren’t you her protector?”

“Ciara isn’t one of the witches in the coven of nine. Ciara is the sacrificed soul that sealed the magic for eternity. Her daughter…. was my betrothed. Allura became my charge when the circle was created.”

“Wait…”

“No, I am not one of your ancestors.” He laughed. “I was forced to give up my love for Allura when the circle was bonded, and she never forgave me for choosing my mother over her.”

“I don’t understand, why would you give her up, on your love for her?”

“It would skew my perception of things, Celia. I wouldn’t be able to think with a clear mind if my heart were involved in keeping her safe.”

“That doesn’t seem fair, to live a lifetime without love because you can’t multi-task.” I whispered apprehensively to myself, my eyes shooting to the floor.

Dmitri raised his hands to my shoulder, picking up a piece of dark brown hair between his two fingers. “It has been a battle every day since your mother showed me your photograph.” His voice was low, thick with desire.