Destiny Disrupted (18 page)

My hand trembled when I reached for the doorknob. Darrah had warned me to stay out of her shed, but she wasn’t home, so what was the worst that could happen? I bit my lip and tightened my fingers around the brass handle.

The door was locked, so I recited a quick spell. A noisy
click
followed, and the door creaked open. When my foot hit the wood floor, I paused to switch on the overhead light. My gaze took in the small room and the cast-iron pot squatting over some type of burner. Darrah wasn’t much of a housekeeper. Withered plants drooped from dismal pots on the tables. Leather books, glass jars of preserved dead things, and bottles filled with magickal potions lined the dusty shelves.

The shed’s musty air choked my lungs and I coughed. I walked around a black, wicker room-divider until I was positioned behind it, then tugged out a heavy tome—Darrah’s grimoire—from the shelf and opened it. The front pages contained a list of basic spells. I thumbed to the middle of the grimoire, searching through the spellbook for the incantation I needed.

Staring up at me from one of the pages was the invocation the Blood Rose Circle had used to summon the soul eater, Esael. An unnerving sensation blossomed in my chest and traveled down my arms and into my fingertips, making the spellbook feel heavy in my hands.

I paged through the grimoire, reading some of the headings.
The Voiceless Hex. The Healing Spell. Cure For a Broken Heart.
Something caught my eye as I turned the page, and I flipped it back. Written across the top of the page were the words:
Coven Bonding.

The handwriting was not Darrah’s, but looked familiar. The strokes appeared thick and confident, the uppercase letters feminine and large. The ritual had been transcribed by my mom. I quickly scanned the text, then smiled and hugged the grimoire to my chest against the cold.

“This is beyond cool,” I whispered.

A floorboard creaked, nearly stopping my heart. A gust of wind rushed through the room, swirling my hair off my shoulders. The book fell from my grasp and tumbled to the floor. Heavy footsteps crossed the room. I pressed my back against the wall, ready to use my flashlight as a weapon.

Brittany stuck her head around the room-divider and regarded me with a wry expression. “What the heck are you doing out here?”

“Brittany! You scared the crap out of me!” I crouched to grab the spellbook.

“Which you deserve.” She smirked. “What’s taking you so long? And where are the extra cans of soda?”

“I was just looking for something.”

She snatched the grimoire from my hands and scrutinized it. “What is this creepy thing?”

I seized it back and, with a trembling hand, shoved the flashlight at her. “A spellbook.” I stood on tiptoes, grabbing the other items I needed and shoving them into a bag.

Brittany glanced around and shuddered. “What is this weird place?”

“My aunt’s spell casting room.” I closed the bag. “Some witchcraft needs mystical paraphernalia to be done correctly.”

Brittany, to my surprise, appeared interested. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah. It kinda is,” I said, lifting my shoulders.

“Come on,” Brittany walked back toward the open doorway. “I’m not hanging out in here, it’s probably infested with spiders.”

She disappeared outside, and I followed. As I closed the door, a strange breeze struck my face and neck. I gazed out at the yard, my witchy senses probing the backyard for danger. A tingle warmed my skin, tugging lightly at the scar.

I started speed-walking toward the house, as the wind kicked up again much stronger. The closer I got to the porch, the more powerful the winds became, slowing my progress. By the time I reached the back porch, I had to squint to see. When I got inside the kitchen, I slammed the door behind me, breathless.

“It sure is windy tonight,” I said.

Brittany’s dark hair stuck out from behind her ears. “Must be a storm approaching.” She gestured at the window over the sink.

I stared out the window at the swaying branches of the trees outside. “It hit so suddenly.”

“Sometimes windstorms do,” she replied.

“And so do mystical storms,” I said as we entered the living room. “The bad kind.”

Her cell buzzed and she whipped the phone from her pocket to read the screen. “I have to get home. My dad just texted
.
” Brittany glanced at Kayla. “I’ll drop you off at Craven Manor on the way.”

“Wait guys! I wanted to do a spell before you go,” I said.

“Can we do it another night?” Brittany asked.

“Me
hungry,
” Kayla whined. And when zombies were famished—they needed to be fed—and fast.

“Yeah. I guess,” I said.

Kayla and Brittany put on their coats at the door. Everyone was waving and saying their good-byes as the two girls stole out into the night. When their voices finally died on the thrashing winds, I took a deep breath.

With a big yawn, Ariana said, “I’m going to bed. I’m wicked tired. Night, Shi.” She ascended the stairs up to her room.

Having my friends over helped ease the pain striking my heart, but if I truly loved Trent, I had to make things right. All my life I’d craved a real relationship, with respect and unconditional love, but then I blew it. Tears stung my eyes. Trent and I were going to spend the rest of our lives together and nothing—not even my disapproving friends or family—would ever come between us.

Or so I naively thought.

The next evening, instead of doing my homework, I texted and called Trent about fifty times. He’d skipped school again, and my nerves were taut. After school, I’d driven over to the ‘fight club’ barn, and found it deserted. I even checked Luna Pizza and this arcade in Larkspur that he’d taken me to once to play air hockey, but he was nowhere to be found.

Where did he keep mysteriously disappearing to?

Rubbing my sweaty hands on the thighs of my jeans, I double-checked my cell phone for the hundredth time. No new messages.

With a heavy heart, I slid the old trunk from underneath my bed and opened the lid. I removed my grimoire and flipped the pages. I’d copied
The Coven Bonding
I had found in Darrah’s spellbook into my own. The ritual would awaken a person’s dormant magick.

Having a coven would help take up some of the demon-hunting slack, since I couldn’t keep doing this alone anymore. Like that sating, ‘
There’s
strength in numbers
.’

Biting my lip, I read the requirements
.
The directions were explicit. One dominant witch or High Priestess must oversee the initiation. The other persons joining had to stand or sit in a circle, holding hands, and recite an incantation. Next, everyone pricked their finger and put a drop of blood into a glass of wine before taking a sip to bind and increase our magick.

Evans had been right. It was time to form my own coven. And my two best friends were daughters of powerful witches. Time they came out of the broom closet.

Leaving my room, I spotted a crack of light under Ariana’s bedroom door and knocked.

“Come in,” she called.

I pushed open the door and entered the room. Ari sat on her bed cross-legged with her laptop, and a
Sims 3
game paused on her screen.

“What’s up?” she asked.

Hugging the spellbook to my chest, I said from the doorway, “You busy?”

“Nope. Just playing a game. My sim is about to become a vampire.”

“I know you said that you weren’t thrilled about being part witch, but with your supernatural Fae powers, I think we could start kicking some serious demon ass.”

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the headboard. “What are you talking about? Where’s all this coming from?”

“I can’t stop the Triad alone. And I can’t save my boyfriend from going dark. Even with the power boost from Raze’s angelic blood inside me, I need to be more formidable.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“Everything. After talking to Evans, I realized I really do hate being the lone demon hunter in town. I need backup if I’m going to take out the Triad.” I walked toward the staircase at the end of the hallway, and Ariana followed me down the stairs. “And since you and Brittany are witches, you’ll both need more protection.”

She joined me in the living room. “I wanna help, but I’m not really into all this witchy stuff like you.”

I was short on patience, and the clock was ticking. “Well, it’s time to get over it. There’s a reason we’re friends, Ari, and like your aunt said, maybe you have a destiny.”

She rolled her eyes. “Do I
look
like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch?”

I clucked my tongue. “One of my grimoires claims the strongest kind of magick that has ever existed is the power of three daughters born of a Heritage witch bloodline. That’s you, me, and Brittany.” I pulled out my cell from my pocket. “If we’re gonna do this, it has to be tonight on a full moon.”

There was a long, loaded silence.

“Do what?” Ariana asked, her mouth scrunching up in an unhappy pout.

“Receive your powers. Invoke your inner-witch.” I glanced at my best friend. “Or in your case, awaken your inner-fairy.”

“Ha ha,” she mocked, but a spark of seriousness darkened her eyes. “Then what happens?”

“Your head will probably spin around, and then you’ll vomit split-pea soup.”

“You’re so
not
funny today.”

“Ariana, I need you. You were born a witch. We all were. And I think you’d better start learning to deal with it.”

I sent Brittany a “911 Get your butt over to my house” text, then said, “I’m going to get my supplies, some candles, and a black cloth.”

“Are we starting a coven or a satanic cult?”

“Now who’s so not funny,” I said over my shoulder as I exited the room.

After gathering the magickal provisions, I set up in the living room. I draped the black cloth over the coffee table, placed the white candles on top, and a sewing needle. Next, I put a chalice and an open bottle of red wine in the center. Ariana stood over me the whole time with a grim twist to her mouth, but she didn’t say a word to stop me. Just as I finished, Brittany rang the doorbell.

“I’ll go,” Ariana said, marching to the front door and letting Brittany inside.

She breezed into the room, a waft of Victoria Secret mango body spray trailing behind her. “What’s with the big emergency?” Brittany asked, lifting her long, dark hair over her shoulder. “This better be important because I canceled my mani-pedi to come over here.” She flashed deep purple nails in my face.

Glancing at my short scraggly nails, I stuffed my hands in my pocket. “It is,” I said, turning to her. “You rushed out of here the other night before I could perform a spell that will make the three of us an official coven.”

Brittany rubbed her hands together. “As long as I don’t have to dance naked under a full moon, I’m game.”

“If we do this, there’s no going back,” I warned them. “So if you’re really,
really
not sure about this, then I’ll understand, but I can’t keep battling different incarnations of evil on my own. And whether you join my coven or not, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re witches, or stop paranormals from coming after you, but at least you’ll be able to defend yourselves.” I gazed at my friends and softened my tone. “I know in my heart that we’ll be stronger together.”

Brittany lifted her shoulders and walked over to the table, where my grimoire sat closed. Pensively, she ran her fingertips over the embossed triquetra design on the cover. “There are a lot of things in this world that no one can explain, and I’ve seen quite a few unexplained things myself.”

“Who hasn’t?” Ariana rolled her eyes. “But let’s not forget we almost got killed by a lycan football team. This is dangerous.”

“But it’ll be pretty freaking cool to be a witch, and we’ll get superpowers,” Brittany said, sitting on the sofa.

I nodded. “Every witch has her own unique set of abilities. I can move objects with my mind through telekinesis, I sometimes get premonitions through dreams, and I can create blue energy balls for defense.”

“Okay. I’m all in,” Brittany said.

“Then let’s get started,” I said, pouring wine into the chalice. “Sit around the table and join hands.”

Ariana hung back. “What if something goes wrong?”

“Nothing will. I promise,” I said, lighting the candles with a butane lighter. “It’s a basic incantation to bind the three of us together and increase our powers. The only good or bad is in the heart of the witch.”

Ari snatched up the goblet of wine and took a deep gulp. “Sorry, my inner-witch needed fortification before I do this.” She returned to wine to the center of the circle.

After refilling the glass, I pricked my finger with the sewing needle and dripped my blood into the goblet of wine, then handed Brittany the needle, and finally Ariana. They did the same.

“Repeat after me,” I said. “We come together to form this blessed circle through the elements, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. We follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, who pledged themselves to fight against the forces of darkness. When evil assails us, when fear weakens us, or when death threatens us, within the circle we will find our inner power. We swear to honor this bond above all else. And with this oath, we vow to protect the innocent.” I turned to Brittany. “Do you accept the power of the circle?”

She nodded and I handed her the goblet. “I accept.” Brittany took a sip.

I shifted to face Ariana, handing her the chalice next. “Do you accept the power of the circle?”

After a brief hesitation, she whispered, “I accept.” She drank the wine.

Brittany took the cup from her and faced me. “Do you accept the power of the circle?”

“I accept.” She passed me the wine, and I guzzled the last of it. Setting the goblet on the table, I said, “Now we are sister witches. Protectors of the innocent. The Chosen Ones. And our coven will be known as the
Hex Girls
from this day forth.”

“Just like that band on Scooby-Doo,” Ariana said with a grin.

A gust of wind shot through the room and all the windows burst open, swirling my hair off my shoulders and extinguishing all the candles. I sucked in some air, clinging to Brittany and Ariana’s hands. The acrid stink of the candle smoke curled through my nostrils.

“We need some light. I can’t see a darned thing!” Brittany exclaimed.

All the candles flickered to life again. Behind us, the logs left on the fireplace roared to life and heated the room. We looked at each other.

I smiled. “Who did that?”

Ariana slowly raised her hand. “I think I did it. I was fumbling around the table for the lighter, and my hand touched a candle. Then they all suddenly relighted and the fireplace, too.”

I clapped my hands once. “
Yes!
It worked! I read in the grimoires that some witches have pyrokinesis, the ability to ignite or extinguish fires.”

One of the candles flared higher and fell onto the rug. A small blaze ignited and we jumped up.

“Oh, crap. Did I do that?” Ariana asked.

“It’s okay. I’ll get the fire extinguisher from the kitchen.” I raced from the room and when I returned armed with the extinguisher, the girls were trying to stomp out the flames. “Look out,” I said and fired a spray of foam at the small fire. With the flames doused, Ariana finished cleaning up the mess.

Once we resettled on the floor, Ariana glanced at Brittany. “Try to do something.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Anything,” Ariana and I chorused, then giggled.

Brittany pouted. “What if I don’t get an active power?”

“Just try and focus with all your intent,” I said.

“Fine.” Brittany stood and turned in a slow circle. She paused and held out her hand at the TV remote. “Come to me.” Nothing happened.

Just to show off, I pointed at it. The remote flew into my hand. “Try something else,” I suggested.

She frowned and stared at the window.
This is dumb. I can’t do anything.

“Yes, you can,” Ariana answered.

I gasped. “You heard her, too?”

Brittany’s head whipped in our direction. “Heard what?”

“
You.
One of your powers must be telepathy, the ability to communicate with others through the mind,” I said.

“I wonder if it’ll only work for us since we’re bonded now, or on other people,” Ariana said.

“One way to find out,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m starving. Let’s order pizza.”

Brittany frowned. “How is getting fast food gonna test my new ability?”

“When the pizza guy gets here, try to communicate with him.”

She nodded. “Oh. Right.”

“Isn’t that just gonna freak him out?” Ariana asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe. But we’ll definitely be able to tell if it worked by his reaction.”

“True.” Brittany dug out her cell from her Steve Madden purse. “I’m going to call my dad and tell him I’ll be home late.” She walked into the dining room.

I went around the room and closed the windows. “Are you all right?” I asked Ariana now that we were alone.

“Actually, I am. And I’m glad you made me do this. I think my power is totally cool, and this is gonna sound weird, but I felt something magical stir inside me while we did the coven bonding. And after seeing my aunt and doing this ritual tonight things got really clear.” Ariana’s blonde, windblown hair was fanned out over her shoulders and her face was pale, but sparkly and almost glowing. “I mean, you’ve been fighting evil for months all by yourself, and I’ve helped some, but I just realized that’s what I want to do. Battle evil, protect innocents. I believe it’s worth doing. And I don’t think you do it because you have to. It’s a good cause, Shiloh, and I want to help. Evans and you were right, we’ll be stronger together.”

Throwing my arms around her, I hugged her hard. “I am so relieved!”

Tears sprang to my eyes as it hit me full force that I wasn’t alone anymore in my supernatural freakiness. I now had two more friends with magickal gifts. Who knew what other powers they would soon acquire?

Ariana snatched up the house phone and speed-dialed Luna Pizza. While my bestie ordered the food and drinks, Brittany sat on the sofa with her phone, texting someone. Maybe telling Kayla about her new superpower. Just as I finished cleaning up the living room, the doorbell sounded and I went to answer the door.

As I passed Brittany, I said, “Try to focus and talk to him with your mind.”

I opened the door and pulled some cash out of my pocket. Two shadows fell over the doorway. Brittany and Ariana hovered behind me. Ari grabbed the large combo pizza and Brittany took the two-liter bottle of soda from the guy’s hands.

Hello, salty goodness!
I don't have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?

I snort-laughed and slapped a hand over my mouth. The cute pizza guy and I stood there staring at each other.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, that’ll be seventeen ninety-five, please.”

“Oh!” I handed him a twenty. “Keep the change.” I shut the door and went back into the living room.

The pizza box lay open and the girls had set out napkins and glasses. Ariana sat beside Brittany on the sofa and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. I got comfortable on a pillow on the floor and lifted a glass of soda. My mouth felt dry and I gulped down half of it.

“Do you think he heard me?” Brittany asked, reaching past me to swipe a slice.

Ari giggled. “Nope. He didn’t even twitch an eye.”

“That means only we can hear your thoughts when you choose to project them, Britt. This power might come in handy,” I said.