The Promise (The Coven Series) (29 page)

I
didn’t try to hold the tears back.
 
He
could have done so many things, but this…this meant more to me than he would
ever know.
 
He’d given me his heart, his
soul, and his life.
 

He
trailed butterfly kisses down my cheek, tasting my tears.
 
He nibbled at my lips before continuing on to
my throat.
 
He found the pulse point and
nipped it.
 
“My Cassie,” he whispered.
 

My
coat hit the floor and he pulled the sweatshirt over my head.
 
He smiled at finding another shirt to hinder
him.
 
“Nothing is ever easy with you is
it?”

I
gasped as his teeth scraped over my throat.
 
His lips found their way to mine once more.
 
Sensation after sensation ran through
me.
 
His kiss deepened, his lips
demanding full and total surrender.
 
He didn’t
have to ask twice.
 
My arms went around
his neck, one hand tangling in the soft strands of his hair.
 
I pressed myself closer, an urgent need
building that felt like it would burst at any minute.

He
broke the kiss long enough to pull my tee shirt off and unhook my bra.
 
His gaze sent a blaze of heat across my skin
and I could feel the blush rising.
 
He
pulled me back into his arms and his lips overwhelmed me.
 
His hands were everywhere and I sensed rather
than felt us moving backwards.
 
My knees
hit the bed and he came down with me.
 

That
was my last coherent thought.

Chapter Twenty Four

Nervousness
and panic took turns upsetting my stomach all day.
 
Tonight was the night.
 
The big birthday party.
 
The night I was scheduled to die.
 
Dad kept trying to find a way to tell
me.
 
I ran every time I saw him
coming.
 
He even sent me a text
threatening to tie me to a chair and force me to listen.
 
Well, he’d have to undo my binding spell
first and then catch me.
 
He wasn’t that
fast anymore.
 

Kay
told me the theme for our party was past traditional Coven attire.
 
Maybe now I’d get to see the robes I’d always
imagined them wearing when they worked their mumbo jumbo.
 
I chose to wear the induction dress my sister
had given me.
 
Considering it belonged to
a Coven leader, and I was apparently supposed to be a Coven leader, I though it
rather fitting.
 

Emily
had said the dress was mine.
 
It felt
like mine.
 
It molded to my body,
stopping just above my knees.
 
The
material glittered and shimmered with every movement I made.
 
More than anything, though, when I’d slipped
it on, I’d felt a surge of electricity hum through me.
 
She’d told me it was magical.
 
I believed her now.

I
smoothed the dress into place and piled my hair up on my head just as Emily had
done that night long ago.
 
My Max
Kibardin
Rosette sandals cushioned my feet.
 
The locket dangled above my heart, a piece of
both of us.
 
I refused to look in the
mirror.
 
I was nervous enough as it was
just wearing this and imagining the different ways they could try and kill
me.
 

My
mind drifted back to the night I’d spent in Ethan’s arms.
 
He had been my first and hopefully my last if
we survived tonight.
 
My toes still
curled thinking about it.
 
The feel of
his fingers had branded my skin.
 
I
blushed at the memory.
 
It was the only
thing that managed to block out the fear and dread of what I knew was
coming.
 
The need to see him again pulsed
through me.
 
He said he’d pick me up,
that he had a few things to do at home first.
 
I didn’t want to wait.
 
I’d go to
him.
 
My parents weren’t home yet, so I
didn’t have to worry about getting past them.

Downstairs
I grabbed a jacket, but put it back.
 
What was the point if I’d still freeze my ass off in the dress and
stilettos?
 
I smiled.
 
There was one way I’d stay warm.

“Fire,
I summon thee and ask for thy help to keep me warm.”

Heat
blazed through me.
 
I stepped out into
the cold October night.
 
“Thank you,” I
whispered as the cold air melted into the heat of a summer’s day.
 

I
stumbled going down the steps.
 
My first
thought was for my shoes.
 
They were
new.
 
If I ruined them, I’d be seriously
pissed at myself.
 
The silver locket
hanging from my neck settled back into place and it burned me.
 
Ice.
 
It was icy cold against my chest.
 
The startled gasp slipped out and I clutched it in my hand to pull it
from my skin.
 

It
moved.

I
wanted to tear it from me.
 
Instead, I
carefully took it off and held it out before me by the chain while I waited for
the gentle sway of the heavy silver heart to stop moving.
   

It
didn’t.
 
It kept moving.
 

Okay,
I thought, so what is the damned thing doing?
 
Tonight was not the night to deal with anymore weirdness.
 
I knew I should put it back in my jewelry
box, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.
 
It held a part of Emily inside and I wanted to keep it close, especially
tonight.
 

Oh,
damn.
 
It held a piece of Emily
inside!
 
A physical
part of her.
 
I could use it to
find her Book of Shadows.
 
Why hadn’t I
thought of that before?
 

I
didn’t have time to cast a circle.
 
Blind
luck it was then.

“I
call upon the guardian of the watchtower of the east to guide me this night.

To
find the truth that is hidden from the light,

Tonight,
Samhain, I summon thee to guide me upon my quest.

I
seek my sister’s soul.

Bind
it to me so that I may see

That
which is lost unto me.”

The
locket came alive in my hand.
 
It twisted
left.
 
I turned and started walking.
 
It led me into the woods.
 
I walked for twenty minutes heading deeper
and deeper into the trees.
 
Whenever the
locket swayed in a different direction, I turned.
 
The clearing soon came into view.
 
It led me to the one place we’d both loved
and had felt at home in.
 
It hummed and
vibrated, swaying steadily west.
 
It fell
motionless when I reached the outer ring of trees and came to a stop under the
oldest oak tree standing.
 

Emily’s tree.
 
She’d
sat under it for hours on end just drawing.
 
Her book had been here all along.
 
Why had I never thought of this?
 
She’d always told me the best hiding place was in plain sight.
 
The Coven used this spot on a regular basis.
 
Of course she would have put it here where
they’d never have thought to look for it.
 
Hell, even I hadn’t.
 
I was such
an idiot.
 
Some Coven leader I’d be, I
thought wryly.

There
wasn’t any obvious hiding place.
 
Emily
would have made sure no one could find it even if they stumbled upon it.
 
What would she have done?
 
Earth magic.
 
Earth was her element.
 
I pictured what her book might look like in
my mind and came up with a quick rhyme.

“Earth,
I summon thee

To help me find that which is hidden from me.”

The
ground gave a soft shudder beneath my feet and I beat a hasty retreat back a
few steps.
 
The black soil turned and
erupted upward, carrying with it Emily’s Book of Shadows.
 
The black, leather bound book came to a rest
at my feet.
  

My
hands shook as I reached for it.
 
All the
answers I needed were in here.
 
Or at
least I hoped so.
 
I brushed the dirt
away from the cover and stared at her name embossed in gold letters across the
front.
 
The soft leather was intact and
unharmed.
 
It was beautiful.

I
made my way over to the log I usually sat on and opened the book.
 
The moon was full, but there still wasn’t
enough light to see by.
 
I hadn’t brought
my purse which held a mini pen light.
 
“I
need light,” I groaned out loud.

The
same lights I’d seen buzz around Megan the night of her initiation materialized
in front of me.
 
They surrounded me and I
could see as clearly as if I were sitting under a lamp at home.
 
“Thank you,” I murmured, not knowing which
Element to thank, but offered my gratitude anyway.

Emily’s handwriting scrawled across the pages.
 
They were filled with countless spells she’d
written and potions she’d crafted.
 
I
came upon one to find a lost object and laughed.
 
If only she’d known how desperately I’d have
needed that particular one.
 
I flipped to
the end and found what I was looking for.

October
13, 2007

I
did it.
 
I broke the wards.
 
They’ll know, of course, but we’ll be gone
before they figure out who it was.
 
The
book confirmed it all.
 
A curse.
 
I still
can’t believe it.
 
Everything we are has
been about revenge.
 
He’s there.
 
It’s all true.
 
Only thing is they miscalculated.
 
They think
it’s
Susan, but it’s not.
 
They were counting
the miscarriage Ms. McDonald had.
 
He
counted it.
 
The curse only takes into
account the living.
 
It’s either CJ or
Kay.
 
I need to get them away from here
before they figure it out.
 

There
was a blood promise made, a sacrifice promised, and the burning
re-enacted.
 
They’re going to burn
her.
 
Revenge?
 
How does killing one of our own make us any
better than those who betrayed our ancestors?
 
It doesn’t.
 
What they’re planning
is evil.
 

I
can’t let them find out they’re wrong.
 
I
have to get CJ and Kay away from here.

October
14, 2007

I
knew Ghost Boy couldn’t be on the up and up.
 
He was set in place by those who betrayed us to make sure we didn’t
succeed.
 
I met Matthew today.
 
I’m not sure if he’s the same as Ghost Boy or
something different, but he told me everything.
 
He also exposed Ghost Boy for who he was and sent him back into the
veil.
 
They know now they’re wrong in
their calculations. It won’t take them long to figure out the truth.

I
need to get them and leave today.
 

October
15, 2007

It’s
too late, little sister.
 
Mr. Martin knew
I was up to something and cast a truth spell on me.
 
I couldn’t stop myself.
 
I told him everything.
 
Everything.
 
He knows about both of you.
 
He won’t let me leave.
 
He’ll kill me first.
 
They all will.
 
Revenge burns in their souls.
 
They’ll destroy anything that gets in their
way.
 
This is the only way I can warn
you.
 
I pray to the Fates you find this.

On
that night in 1692, George Howe invoked the aide of the god and goddess of
vengeance.
 
He cast a curse that would
set loose a terrible evil upon the members of their Coven who had betrayed
them.
 
It will seek out their descendants
and cause them to suffer a horrible death.
 
It’s dark magic, CJ.
 
I know dark
magic is a part of witchcraft, but I never thought anyone in our Coven would
use it.
 

I
did something I know I shouldn’t have, but I can’t let them ever use that
dreadful curse again.
 
I destroyed the
pages it was written on and everything about it.
 
I will not write it down here either, but I
will tell you about it.
 
You need to
know.