Shattered Souls (19 page)

I pulled out the
blue chalcedony stone from my pocket and placed it in Angela’s hands. Now I understood why I wanted to give it to her.

Chapter 22

“Do you remember that book in the Witch Avenue Coven’s library that was cursed?” I asked, looking at Logan. We were in the dining room going over some spells that might transition the swap between Angela and me.

“The one that caught on fire?” he asked. “Hard to forget.”

“Just a day in the life of,” I said laughing. “But I started to look at the last couple of pages and it’s interesting. There’s a section that looks like it didn’t scan over, even though the rest of the pages did. Actually, it looks like the writing has been wiped out.” I shoved the paper over to Logan. “I know we’re supposed to be looking at the shifting spells, but this caught my eye.”

“That’s weird,” he replied, looking it over. “What was this section on?”

“Bylaws,” I replied. “Well not really bylaws, but what to do when an Order’s covenant system isn’t abiding to the natural world. It would be helpful if I could actually finish reading it. I was going to go look at the book in the library. See if the print still appears there.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Logan said.
He leaned back in the chair, and looked over at me, watching as I flipped through the pages. I felt a flush run up my body.

“Yes
?” I asked, grinning.

“
Just admiring,” he said quietly. “So how do you think the meeting went last night with the fairies? Do you feel like you can trust them any more?”

I thought back to the horrified look that Bakula gave me when I approached her and Dace about the fire at our Witch Avenue home.
I knew after that she had nothing to do with it, and I felt like a horrible witch for even allowing myself to go there. I felt the ring on my pinky shift and looked down at it.

“Looks like I’ve lost weight,” I sighed.
“My ring keeps slipping.”

“Have you figured out
what that’s for,” he asked, pointing at my finger.

I shook my head. “Bakula said I’d know when I needed to. I’m assuming I haven’t needed to know yet. I honestly feel like the less I have running around in my head the better, and I’m hoping that whatever it is really will become apparent when the time is right. Why? You have some ideas?”

“A few,” he muttered. “Only time will tell though.” He flashed me a smile and leaned forward in the chair as he started thumbing through the book from our cottage.

“I was talking to Trevor
, and we were both thinking that trading with Angela might be best around the time of the convergence,” Logan said, still skimming the pages.

“Like when we get the D
emonikers and Praedivinus back East?” I questioned. “That seems dangerous.”

“Does it really though? If they intend to do anything to you, I’d imagine they’d plan the attack around that time.”

I let out a deep breath and knew what was really bothering me was just how much danger that would put Angela in.

“She’s committed to this,” Logan said. “You can’t be worried about her safety the entire time, regardless of when you choose to do the switch.”

I found myself biting my lip, thinking about how I was going to get over my worry. I wasn’t sure I could and that would put us both in danger. “Let’s go to the library and see if we find anything.”

“All right, sounds good,” Logan said, slamming the book shut
and hopping up. “Does a gingerbread latte sound nice?” He was smiling at me, holding his arms open. I knew he was trying to make me feel better, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I nodded and wrapped my arms around him, allowing myself to enjoy his kindness.

“I’ll let my mom know that we’ll stop by after our trip to the Coven’s library,” I said, stepping back but not wanting to release from his embrace.

“Okay,” he said, placing a kiss on my cheek before allowing our hands to link as we walked to the front door. I grabbed my wool coat and scarf and hoped it would keep me warm enough from the house to the car. Icicles had formed along the gutters of our home overnight, and I think the weather had no intention of letting up. 

“You know we really should try to decorate a little. The arrangements were nice from Meredith, but until you mentioned the gingerbread latte, I had completely forgotten that the holidays were coming,” I said, locking the door.

“It’s been a weird one, that’s for sure,” Logan agreed.

The walkway to the car was icy and
I navigated with extreme caution.

“You’d think there’d be a spell for this,” I said, pointing at the ice-skating rink that previously functioned as our driveway.

“It’s a brutal winter so far,” Logan said, helping me around to the passenger side.

The moment
the key turned in the ignition, I had the defroster blasting, hoping it would warm up soon. It was Thursday afternoon, and the commuters hadn’t hit the streets of Seattle yet, so our drive was a pretty pleasant one. I got my gingerbread latte and enjoyed sipping it all along the way to the coven. Logan turned the car into the Covenstead’s lot and parked. I hadn’t been back since everything happened with my father and Eben. Construction had begun to repair the damage to the corner of the building. Temporary fencing had been placed around that entire side of the building. There were still construction workers on site for the day. It looked like they were in the process of framing out the exterior walls. One of the men waved at me and I waved back. It was kind of nice knowing we weren’t going to be here alone. There were several cars in the parking lot as well, but I wasn’t sure which ones belonged to the workers or if any belonged to other coven members.

I swung open the large coven door and the smell of roses and freesia hit me.

“They must have recently had a wedding here,” I whispered.

“I wonder whose?”
Logan slid his hands through mine as we walked toward the library.

“It’s nice to have you with me,” I muttered. “In case any more books catch on fire or something. I don’t want to be responsible for any
more damage happening at the covenstead.”

Loga
n squeezed my hand and laughed as we rounded the corner to the library’s entrance. I always got excited by the idea of visiting the library and this time was no different. Logan and I walked through the entrance. There didn’t appear to be any other members around, unless they were upstairs. The smell of old leather bindings and dusty pages filled the air, and I loved it.

“Too bad we can’t just hang out in here for the rest of our lives,” I whispered, scanning the shelves for the particular spell book. “It was one of the most blah books in here
...”

Logan slid the ladder out of my way as my gaze continued to hop from one spine to the next.

“Aha,” I said, grabbing the book. “Not where I left it either.”

“Of course not,” Logan said. “That would make things too normal.”

I chuckled as I placed it on the table and opened it up. I grabbed the scanned version out of my purse and laid it next to the book. Whatever curse was on the spell book had already been used up, so that was a good thing, possibly. I flipped to the back pages and was relieved to see writing.

“Voila,” I said, pointing. “Our luck might be changing.”

“Let’s not get too excited,” Logan teased, leaning over me to read the page.

I beg
an reading over the missing pieces and my spirit felt charged with emotion.

“
This could change everything,” I whispered. “Our entire world.”

“I can’t believe this,” Logan muttered, his hand rested on my shoulder as he continued to read.

“But why was that portion erased when I scanned it?” I asked. “How could someone do that?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But the fact that we have the information now is vital.”

“It’s a real game changer,” I agreed. “I don’t think I want to take this information out of this room. I’m not gonna even bother trying to scan it again.”

“For our eyes only,” he
said. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to this.”

“But if it does at least we’ll be ready,” I said, turning to face him.

“Witches have been waiting for someone like you for centuries. It makes me wonder if they knew this type of threat was building all along,” Logan said.

“Reading this kind of implies it, doesn’t it,” I replied,
as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I hope I don’t let our world down.”

“
Impossible,” he brought his lips down to mine, and my pulse jumped as he kissed me tenderly before slowly pulling away. “I love you, Triss.”

“I love you too,” I said, smiling.
“Thank you for that.”

“Anytime,” he laughed.

Logan grabbed the book and put it back on the shelf and then joined his hand with mine. “Ready?”

I nodded and we walked back out into the hallway of the coven, but something wasn’t as we left it.
The hall was empty, but I knew we weren’t alone. I scanned the emptiness as we continued walking toward the main lobby, my hands gripping Logan’s. There was an eeriness surrounding us, as my vague premonition failed us.

Reaching the front doors, I pushed them open
as relief flooded me too soon.

Ethan
and another sorcerer were standing in front of us, a wolfish grin spreading across his lips. He was dressed in another exquisite suit, with a pressed white shirt underneath. Most people would be freezing to death.

“Guess when you’re without a soul, you can’t
get hypothermic,” I said, smiling, keeping the doors open.

“Charming as always,” Ethan said. Rubbing his hands together, he brought them up to his mouth and gave them a quick blow. “See. I do have a soul. It just might be claimed already.”
His grin turned into a sardonic smile, as he looked at Logan. His gaze tracing the length of Logan’s frame as if he were sizing him up.

“What is it you want?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Well, during our wonderful little escapade, I learned some very interesting things,” he began.

My heart stalled
. What did I give away? I swallowed slowly, but I’m sure it looked like I was choking on my thoughts.

“This is a wonderful c
olleague of mine,” Ethan cooed. “Very loyal. Very understanding of the grief I experienced when Lara didn’t come home.”

Logan gently squeezed my hand.
I watched the sorcerer as he tipped his head slightly as if to acknowledge his master’s plight. His dark hair was short, and his eyes brown. He stood a few inches taller than Ethan, but he looked wiry.

“I can’t tell you what a mixture of emotions I felt when I realized what actually happened to Lara. I never wanted to believe that she just left me, but I did.
I did believe that. And I blamed myself for that. You can imagine my surprise when I found out she didn’t leave me. Part of me delighted in this. I wasn’t as intolerable as I had talked myself into believing. She was taken from me. Murdered. She had no intention of leaving and never coming home.” He stopped talking and stared at me in silence.

I knew what was coming and so did Logan. The sorcerer next to Ethan took a step forward.

“Well, I think the best payback for my heartache, Triss,” he paused and looked at Logan, “would be for me to eliminate your beloved as well.”

“Not going to happen.” I shook my head and turned my attention to the other sorcerer. H
e was armed. His belt displayed several types of knives, and I couldn’t help but notice the chain that was strapped through his belt loops.

“I don’t want to be part of this, so I’m going to leave my colleague to take care of things. I fully trust that he will.” He winked at me. “And maybe when it is all over, you will have reconsidered my offer back at the house.”

The words sunk in as I watched him turn around and get into his car. He turned on the engine and pulled out of the lot quickly. The sorcerer stood, squinting his eyes at Logan, as he traced his index finger along the knife holstered on his right hip.

Logan’s hand was gripping mine tightly. I felt him take a step backward and I followed. Not turning
away from the sorcerer, we quickly backed inside the coven. The man started laughing as I locked the door. We knew it wouldn’t do anything to keep him out, but it bought us time.

“This guy’s not going to stop until he finishes what he was told to do,” L
ogan whispered. His hands reaching my shoulders, he balanced his forehead against mine. “No matter what you see, don’t step in. Stand against the wall. I’ve got this handled.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked
apprehensively.

“Because letting him win would mean I couldn’t come back to you,” Logan whispered, sweeping a
quick kiss across my lips as the man blasted open the door. The gust of wind blew my hair back as he lunged toward Logan. I ran to the side of the hall and pressed my back against the wall as I watched Logan shoot out of the way. His body sailed across the room, landing on his knees. Logan closed his eyes briefly, opening them to reveal bright silver. He stood up, stronger and more powerful.