Flames in the Midst (The Jade Hale Series) (31 page)

The results of Amy’s efforts were less than appealing to me, but I had agreed to this, so I would have to grit my teeth and stomach it.  I would spend every morning practicing meditation with Kendra.  After that, Chase would continue working with me on firestarting.  Madilyn and Stefanie were to help me study not only our history as witches, but also the current history of Salem and the history the way
Madilyn and Amy remembered it.  We were hoping to get as close as possible to recreating the history Madilyn and Amy remembered, so it was important to study both.

Mercy and Alex would take turns working on spells with me, and Gia would work on my physical training.  I would spend time every day with Amy, working on my time traveling.  A person could not travel to the same place and time more than once, nor could they interfere with the same series of events more than once.  We would only have one shot at Salem.

The way I saw it, I had two choices.  No matter what, I was determined to learn as much as possible from these witches to use in either scenario.  In the first scenario, I would stay true to my word and help them track down Evan and Cameron and put a stop to whatever they were doing in Salem.  In the second scenario, I would betray the trust of one or all of the witches in this coven.  I might allow some of them to help me, or I might set off on my own to accomplish the task. 

I was so preoccupied with the two scenarios I had set up in my mind, I didn’t see the third scenario coming at me.  It never occurred to me that it wasn’t my choice to make.

A few weeks before we planned to make our move, I called Anastasia to pick up some period clothing for us.  I figured it wouldn’t be exact coming from Historic St. Augustine, but it would be better than jeans and a t-shirt.  To my astonishment, Anastasia was already driving out to meet me when I called her.  I gave her directions to get to the house, and I was out on the front porch when she pulled up the long driveway in her pickup truck.  She hopped out and hugged me, her long dark hair swinging as she jumped out of the vehicle.   It would be December soon, so it was cool enough to leave your hair down without constant air conditioning.  She handed me two bags full of clothes.

After she refused to let me pay her for them, I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“How did you know?  I mean, you were already on your way out here with the clothes when I called to ask you to get them.  How is that possible?”

“I’m not psychic if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, but did I tell you about this, sometime in the past?  It just doesn’t seem like something important enough for me to deliver a message about.”

“Not exactly.  I just get a feeling about things sometimes.  It’s like I’ve been living here long enough, so I am in tune with the vibrations in the air.  I can’t explain it.  I wasn’t even sure why I was buying those things, but I knew I had to do it.  Afterwards, I knew I should start driving out here, even though I didn’t fully know the way.”

I took a moment to absorb what she was saying.  If she felt the need to drive them out today, maybe there was something to Cameron’s urgency in the lagoon.  Maybe it was time to act.

“We’re leaving for Salem in a few weeks.  Why did you bring the clothes out right away?” I asked.

Anastasia just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.  I found myself staring at her as she reached into the back of the truck to grab the bags of clothes.  Between her Native American and Puerto Rican ancestry and whatever drinking from the Fountain of Youth had done to her, her unearthly beauty radiated from every pore of her skin.  It amazed me no one else noticed her beauty or for that matter, no one else seemed to notice her.  How could someone so stunning remain so invisible living in the same town for hundreds of years?

Anastasia tossed me a garbage bag filled with period clothing, and I snapped out of my awestruck stare just in time to catch it before it hit me in the face.  She just laughed and grabbed a second bag.  We carried the bags into the living room where Amy met us. 

“Hi, Anastasia.  Thank you for bringing these so quickly.  I thought Jade just called you today?”

Now it was my turn to shrug.  I figured since Amy had been in touch with my aunt, she already knew Anastasia had peculiarities of her own. 

“Anyway, it’s a good thing you came so quickly.  I’ve been thinking we’re about ready to make our move.”

I couldn’t say I was surprised to hear about Amy’s change in plans.  Anastasia had a knack for knowing when things were about to happen.  Nevertheless, I was curious about Amy’s change of heart.  She had been preaching for weeks that we needed to work harder if we were ever going to be ready.

“I thought we were going to do this in a few weeks,” I said.

Amy put her arm around me, but she spoke plainly.  Anastasia was clearly a friend and could be privy to the secrets of the coven.

“We’ve been keeping our heads up, listening to make sure there are no Shadow Rulers or Hunters aware of your presence.  Last night we got word from a friend; someone knows you are here.  If we don’t move soon, we may lose our opportunity.”

“You mean, you might lose me,” I said.  I felt a little chip on my shoulder, like I was a commodity the coven held instead of a part of the family.  Then Anastasia took my hand, and like in my lagoon, I couldn’t help but feel calm and serene.  When this conversation was over, I would have to explain to her that was only okay in life or death situations. 

“No, that is not exactly what I meant, Jade, although that could end up the outcome.  Nothing is a sure thing.  We would fight for you.  You belong with us, and you are helping us, so we wouldn’t just let someone come in here and take you, but we would expend a lot of energy protecting you, and we might lose others in the process.  I think if we want our best shot, we need to act now.”

“Oh.”  It was all I could say.  I should have known better.  Amy, after all, was not only the leader of this coven, but also one of the few people who remembered both my mother and my aunt.  Coven or no coven, she was the closest thing I had to family.

“Now, you girls go get some lunch.  I’m calling a meeting of the entire coven in an hour.  Anastasia, I would welcome you to stay, but once we travel back to Salem, there will be fewer witches here to protect you if something goes wrong.  I know you value your anonymity, so you should probably leave after lunch just to be on the safe side.  Thank you for bringing the clothes.”

Amy grabbed the two bags and hurried off to sort through them and prepare for the meeting.  Anastasia let go of my hand.

“What’s for lunch?” she asked.

“Seriously?  That’s all you have to say?”

“I told you I just get a feeling about things.  There’s really nothing else to it.  Now, I would like to enjoy a lunch with my friend before she plunges herself back in time.”  Anastasia grabbed my hand again and dragged me towards the kitchen.  It occurred to me she might have been lying about not knowing how to get here since she seemed to know the layout of the house fairly well.

Stefanie was finishing a ham sandwich in the kitchen.  Always the friendly hostess, she stood up and offered to make us a couple of sandwiches.  We ate in silence.  I couldn’t help but feel nervous.  I explained to Anastasia I needed to feel that way in order to prepare myself, and she was not to help.

“I don’t know how I could possibly help,” she said, pretending she didn’t have any gifts of her own.

As we were finishing up, Chase came into the kitchen. 

“I
just heard we’re going to be going today.  Are you ready?” he asked.

“I think so.”  I still hadn’t decided if I was going to double cross him and leave him behind.  I had written him a letter in case I did so.  I would have to put it where he could find it.  It explained I didn’t want to put him in danger.  It also explained I was enrolled in classes in the spring.  I had decided to move out of the house and back out on my own after this was over.  I just hadn’t told Chase or anyone else yet.  Amy was the only one who knew I planned to leave when this was over.  She took me to campus one day to take care of things.

Chase began to rub my shoulders.  Anastasia just raised her eyebrows.

“I thought you said you didn’t want help,” she said.

“This kind of help is different,” I said.  I thought it might be the last time Chase treated me with this kind of warmth.  The moment was bittersweet.  Anastasia must have seen my emotions clearly on my face because she chose that moment to leave, giving me a few minutes alone with Chase before the meeting.

Chase sat down next to me, kissing my cheek as he joined me at the table.  How could we only be hours away from our journey back in time without me having decided what to do about Chase?  I knew our relationship was over one way or the other.  Even if he came back to Salem with us, as Amy planned for him to do, once he knew I was leaving for school for the spring semester, it would be over between us.  I knew he would wait to be the last person through the portal before me.  I could slip through time and leave him behind without betraying anyone else.  I knew it wasn’t fair, but even if we weren’t going to be together, I wanted to protect him. 

“What’s on your mind?” Chase asked me.

“Nothing.  I’m just trying to prepare for tonight,” I lied.

“You’re ready.  Don’t worry.”

“I just thought we’d have more time.”  At least that wasn’t a lie.  Of course, Chase thought I was referring to our time to prepare for tracking down Evan and Cameron.  I was eager to go after them, but I also knew it would be an end of my relationship with Chase as well.  Chase stretched his hand over mine and intertwined his fingers with mine.  It did not have the same effect as Anastasia, but it calmed me anyway.  I wanted to stay in this moment for as long as possible—more than I had wanted to prolong our first kiss—because I knew there would not be any more moments quite like this one.

A short time later, everyone sat silently and nervously in the living room.  I thought about starting a fire in the fireplace.  The logs sat untouched, but I didn’t think this was the type of meeting that needed a warm and cozy feeling to it.  Everything we had been preparing for over the last few months hinged on the events of this evening.  Chase and I were the last two to take our places.  I eyed Kendra with apprehension.  Had she been the one who let a Shadow Ruler know my whereabouts?

Amy cleared her throat and leaned forward.  Normally, she stood for our meetings, but she looked exhausted and not herself.  She had pulled her blond hair back into a ponytail and covered it with a bandanna—as if she were a suburban housewife just tidying up for the day.  The clothes Anastasia had delivered lay neatly stacked in boxes around Amy’s chair.

“As most of you know, our location, our identities, our entire lives have been compromised.  We have been on a mission to rescue the innocent people of Salem, and that mission is in immediate jeopardy.  We have been training for months, but none of us expected to take action for at least another couple of weeks.  I am asking a lot of you. We always knew this would be dangerous.  We are going up against a ruthless and manipulative Shadow Ruler, a murderer at his core.”  The tone of Amy’s voice sharpened.  I thought of my mother and of Justin, not of those in Salem.  Amy took a deep breath, composed herself, and continued.

“Until now, we have had the luxury of seclusion and concealment.  It has provided us with a false sense of anonymity.  Guardians are never truly concealed or anonymous.  It is time to take action before someone else takes our opportunity away from us.  However, in light of the revelation that we are known and in all likelihood can expect an attack in the near future, I would like to give all of you one last opportunity to reconsider.”  Amy fell silent, but no one broke the silence.  Mercy glared at me, almost daring me to back down, but I had already committed
myself to going through with this.  I held my ground.  Chase squeezed my hand in an effort of support.  The next thing Amy said was entirely unexpected.  She gave me more responsibility than I wanted.

“Okay, then we need to get down to the details of the plan.  We had thought we had more time for the specifics, but now it is going to have to come down to a decision today.  Garrett has already volunteered to be one of the witches to be left behind.  We will need a few of you here to protect this place in case the attack comes tonight.  Jade, you have been training with everyone.  You have an idea of whose skills will be necessary and who should stay behind.  I want you to make the final call here.  I will be going with you, but I want you to choose three others to join us.”

All eyes suddenly turned to me.  Caylin looked at me pleadingly.  She couldn’t go because she was not yet a Guardian, and she didn’t want me to take Alex without her.  I thought carefully about Alex first.  He was a new Guardian, although not as new as Chase.  He had a gift for reading auras that everyone already knew about—unlike the secret I kept.  He had a talent for writing spells, although we already had the spells we were going to use.  He also had a skill at removing weapons.  I thought back to the night my mother died.  Cameron had used an ice pick initially to subdue my aunt, and Evan had used a knife to kill my mother.  Alex’s gifts could be invaluable.

I looked next to Alex’s aunt.  Mercy and I did not get along.  Her gift for writing spells was not enough for me to feel compelled to add her to the list.  Gia and Kendra sat next to Mercy today.  I liked Gia, but I wasn’t sure her gift for reading minds would come in handy, especially since she needed to physically touch the person.  If our plan was to remain quiet and discreet, a stranger grabbing the hands of the people of Salem might stand out.  I had no intention of
choosing Kendra if the decision was truly mine to make.  Besides, levitating things would only draw attention to us in a town beginning to feel the hysteria of a witch-hunt.