Casted (Casted series) (27 page)

I stood up and tried wiping the sand off of my face. “What are you doing?” Edge asked as I turned from him and spit more of the grit out of my mouth.

“I’m getting the beach out of my mouth,” I replied. It was no use; it was in my hair, down my shirt and even up my nose. I couldn’t wait to take a shower.

“I’ve taught you how to call the elements. Use the wind as a barrier.” He tossed his hands in the air.

I sighed inwardly. Getting the hang of this was slow going for me. I was great at using one spell at a time. Trying to defend myself and keep a current of protection over my body was still a problem. Edge called it shielding, I called it double the work to remember.

“If you can’t keep the protection of the elements around you, then you’ll be in-”

“Constant danger,” I said, finishing his reminder as I took my stance again.

“This time bring your shield up. Let me know when you’re ready.”

I felt the tingle start at my fingers and work its way up my arms to spread out along my entire body. It was still taking me too long. Edge said it should just be there. Once the current was tingling over every inch of my skin, I gave Edge a nod. “Ready.”

“Don’t move, just feel,” he said as he let go of a spell and it crashed into me. I fell to the ground, landing on a soft cushion of air. My head was killing me.

“What did you throw at me?” I asked as I staggered to my feet.

Edge’s face screwed up in confusion. “I just sent a repelling spell. It should have just bounced off of you.”

I rubbed my temples as my headache grew. “Do you think I could just work on using the elements for right now?”

The ache was building, reminding me of the last time I’d had a power backlash.

I tested my theory as I called the elements to me and started pushing a little extra into each spell. I called the rain and it poured over me, washing sand down my face and the sweat from my body. Edge stood outside of the storm I’d created. Sunshine glinted off his hair as he waited to see what I’d come up with next.

The rain cut off and I brought forth a warm breeze. My hair fluttered and my clothes dried in seconds. When I let the wind go, my headache went with it. Edge’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Better?” he asked, striding towards me.

“Much.”

He slid his hands along my waist, settling them on my hips, and pulled me into his body. “You’ve done really well today.”

I rolled my eyes. I’d done alright, but nothing worth celebrating. Knowing I had access to my magic was something, but only when I had control over it would I then pat myself on the back. The nagging feeling was aggravating. It was like there was still something not clicking together to give me full control. Edge said that it was only because I was still learning all the fundamentals. I think it had something to do with the book and the fact that part of my magic was now connected with it - as if they were feeding off of each other. To fully use one, I’d have to use both. I knew it made no sense, but then again, when had anything else in my life made any sense?

My stomach rumbled. It was time to take a break and refuel. The sun was slipping into the horizon. Tomorrow morning I’d be right back at it with Rainy while Edge got some rest from tonight. Nervous jolts shot throughout my body as I thought about them squaring off against the Triad. The one thing that kept my nerves from consuming entirely me was the knowledge that they would be taking the Triad by surprise.

But I knew we wouldn’t have that advantage for long. We might get away with it a couple of times, but Lorenzo wasn’t stupid and everyone knew that. The Covens had to start taking a stand, or be lost forever.

When we made it back to the house Jude informed us that reports had been coming in all day. Some of the Covens were disbanding in order to keep their families safe. It was sad to see how much Lorenzo’s madness had ripped those families apart. Edge read over the latest reports, cursing under his breath at the weakness the Covens were showing. In his eyes, they were running from the problem instead of asking other Covens to help them make a stand. He tossed the pages on the table in disgust. “If they keep this up, there won’t be a single Coven left.”

Micah had been quiet through every discussion we’d had to date - always watching us like he was taking in the whole picture and putting it all together in his mind. So it startled me when he pulled a chair out and sat down to face Edge.

“How many have decided to scatter so far?” Micah asked.

Edge handed the list to Micah.

“I think it may benefit us to speak to these Covens and let them know we are taking a stand and that we cannot do it alone. If they know someone is actively helping to keep the Covens safe, they may in turn help us.” Micah gestured to the paper. “May I?”

Edge dipped his head in answer. Micah folded the paper and slipped it into his shirt pocket.

“Will they listen to you? You are, after all, a Nomad, and they are taught to fear you,” Jude said, tapping his fingers against the table’s surface in thought.

“I will do what is necessary to stop Lorenzo and the Triad from eradicating our bloodlines.” Micah touched the side of his neck. A symbol appeared. He pinched his fingers together and it pulled free. It wiggled between his finger tips and crumbled. His face crumpled as if he’d lost something irreplaceable.

“You didn’t have to do that. We could have found a way around it somehow,” Edge said, watching Micah in disbelief.

“I will do all that I can to ensure the safety of Jade. There is so much that you don’t know about the book–so much I am bound to silence on. If giving up my connection to the Nomads ensures that we can stop Lorenzo, then that is what I must do.” Micah’s eyes glistened as he looked at me.

“I will not let you go in without the protection of my Coven,” Dagger said as he stepped in front of Micah. The old man got to his feet and allowed Dagger to place his palm against Micah’s neck. Magic rippled in the air. I could feel it surrounding me as it poured out of everyone and channeled into Dagger, down his arm and into Micah.

Magic erupted from my body and slammed into Dagger. The connection between all of us amplified until we were hovering inches from the floor. No one could pull away or speak. We were at the mercy of whatever was linking them to me and me to Dagger.

Papers began to lift off the desk like they were being pulled into a vortex surrounding us. The woman of the book emerged from my head and appeared in her wispy form, her body floating in the air above Micah.

Eyes darted around the room as if everyone were asking each other if they were witnessing the same thing. The woman’s transparent body hovered as she looked around the room. Her focus settled on the hand that was against Micah’s neck. Slowly, she wrapped her vapory form around Dagger, placing her hand on his.

Everything stilled.

The woman stared into Micah’s eyes.

“I should strike you down for keeping me locked away for so long.” The entire spectrum of colors flashed across her body like a contained lightning storm. Her form billowed and then shrunk, cutting off the eerie light show.

“I find myself at a crossroads with you, Nomad. For now, I will allow you to live since you are not trying to contain me, but rather protect me. However, if you fall out of line, I am now linked to you and your new Coven. Cross me again and you will be ended with a mere thought.”

Bright white light grew around us, the intensity piercing my eyes.

“You will fail without my help. For that reason alone, I will offer it to you and you will use it.” Her voice boomed across the room.

Tendrils of energy snaked out from her wispy form towards me. My neck burned in response as if she placed a fiery finger against it. Pressure built against me, pushing me backwards to pin me against the wall.

She began chanting melodic words. The words were alien to me. Were they from the same language that had covered my arms? I could feel my body growing heavier. Her words dragging me down. Black dots danced in my vision as if I were slowly passing out.

As her voice quieted, another blast of energy shoved me further into the wall. It felt like my skin would separate from my bones.

When the pressure released, I slammed to the floor. My breath heaved in and out of my body. My vision cleared enough for me to see the others. They too, were sprawled out on the floor. Rainey was rubbing at her eyes, wincing. Jessa was slumped over on her elbows, while the others were slowly getting to their feet.

I leaned my head back against the wall. That was all I had the energy for.

“What the hell just happened?” Jessa asked as she staggered over to peer down at me. Edge nudged her aside and helped me settle into a nearby chair. My eyes darted around the room to look at everyone, making sure they were okay after what had just happened. They looked as beat up as I felt.

“That was her? The crazy woman in the book?” Jessa asked as she put her head in her hands using the table to support her wavering body.

“That crazy woman just gave us something we all needed very much,” Dagger said.

“Oh? And what might that be? Cause all I got out of that is one big bruise from head to toe and a splitting headache,” Julie snapped.

“She gave us her mark,” he said pointing to his neck, “She also linked us all together,” Edge said.

It was then that I noticed that no one had actually spoken out loud. We were communicating with our thoughts.

Holy shit!

“Holy shit, indeed,” Edge said as he scrubbed his face with his hands.

“Does that mean we’re going to be inside of each other’s heads all the time?” Rainy’s eyes reflected worry.

“No, I think we have to have the intention of communication,” Edge said.

I felt better watching his lips move, knowing that the sentence was spoken and not projected.

Before we could test that theory, the alarm blared, warning us that a Coven was in distress. Edge brushed my lips with a quick kiss before running out the door behind Jessa and Dagger.

Jude was already in motion, his fingers flying over the keys of a laptop that had appeared in front of him. Julie pulled a chair up beside him and slid on an earpiece. A thin wire hovered close to her lips. The monitors along the walls started streaming information behind them.

Micah settled into the chair beside me. His hands rested on the table. He gave me a solemn look but never spoke. It worried me how quiet he was, but Jude said it was normal for him.

In the center of the table, a small black speaker rose into view and crackled to life.

Dagger’s voice buzzed from the tiny device. “ETA, two minutes. Status report?”

“The Enforcers are coming in from the West. Go in at the North side of the property. You can take them by surprise,” Julie said as she leaned over and touched the screen in front of Jude.

“Five Enforcers total,” Jude said as he continued to scan the monitors.

“You got five total, be safe,” Julie spoke into the thin wire.

“Copy that. Stand by,” Dagger replied. The speaker hissed before going silent.

“And now we wait,” Jude said as he put more intel up on the wall of monitors.

I held my breath for what seemed like an eternity before the speaker came back to life. Jude swung back around in his chair, hands flying over the keys again.

Edge’s voice vibrated along the air. “Two down, three split. Report location of missing three.”

“I’m tracking them now,” Jude said. “It looks like they’re headed towards the two storey house at the end of Willow Bridge Lane.”

Julie repeated Jude’s instructions into the thin wire. I was impressed by how well they worked together.

Jude switched from his laptop to the monitors on the wall, never staying in one spot. Julie followed him with her eyes as if waiting for information to spill out of him.

“Copy, stand by,” Jessa answered, her breathing sounded choppy from running.

“Good, they’ve all checked in.” Rainy sighed.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Everyone is supposed to be in communication. That’s how we know they are all okay,” Jude answered as he kept his eyes on the screen.

“How come we aren’t using the connection that the woman in the book gave us?” I asked.

“We can’t use this link between all of us because it would be impossible to decipher everyone’s thoughts at one time,” Jude replied.

The speaker hissed and popped. “Two more down. Report the location of the third,” Dagger said.

“Julie, check the live feed on the wall. I can’t get the location. Too many damn trees in the way,” Jude said as he continued typing quickly.

“He’s running along the back side of the houses to the east of you,” Julie said as she touched the screen on the wall and made the image bigger.

I watched as a small dot of red scurried across the screen. Three white dots were catching up quickly. The white dots surrounded the red one. It disappeared.
Yes!

“Clear,” Edge’s voice came again. Moments later, they walked back into the War Room.

“That was way too easy,” Dagger said as he rubbed his jaw.

“It won’t be next time, especially now since five Enforcers won’t be going back to the Triad tonight,” Edge said as he leaned over to look at Jude’s computer.

“Jude, send a private message to a handful of the Covens. Tell them Micah is on his way to speak to them,” Edge said.

“You want him to go now?” Dagger asked.

“I think he’s going to be our best chance at getting the Covens to help respond to future Triad attacks. From here on out, the Triad will know that someone is interfering. The more Coven members we can get to respond, the better. There’s a possibility that he could send out multiple packs of Enforcers and we need to be ready,” Edge explained.

Jude nodded sharply and turned back to his keyboard. “Okay, here’s what I have.” He rattled off a small list of Covens to Micah. “Start with those and I will keep sending you new locations as you go,” Jude said.

I placed my hand on Micah’s arm. “Be careful.”

He nodded with a smile as he squeezed my hand. “Do not worry over me, I will be fine.”

Micah stood from his seat and rounded the table. Dagger stretched his hand out and Micah shook it.