The Promise (Book 1, The Coven Series)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Numb. I felt nothing as I walked, not even the bruising grip Ethan had on my arm. I had nothing left. My friends, hell even my own mother, had betrayed me. They were willing to sacrifice me for their precious revenge. It didn't matter to them that it was wrong, that I hadn't agreed to any of this. All they saw was their need for vengeance.

The clearing came into view. Ethan's grip tightened. I wanted to laugh, but couldn't even manage that. Was he afraid I was going to make a run for it? Where would I go? Jeff had been my last hope. He was probably dead. Because of me. He'd died trying to save me. A single tear slipped free, its salty wetness burned an icy path down my cheek as we came to a stop beside the circle of ashes.

Mr. Martin dragged my father to where I stood. Deputy Sims pulled out his gun and pointed it at my dad's head. I had no doubts they'd kill him. His life mattered nothing to either of them, to anyone in the Coven. All that mattered was their stupid curse.

"Now, CJ, what did Sara do?"

My father's eyes begged me to stay quiet, not to give in to their demands. He was all I had left. I had to save him even if it cost me everything. He should understand that better than anyone. He'd taught me the true meaning of family and love. He was my Daddy. I couldn't let them kill him.

I searched the crowd until I found Kay. Billy had her pulled tight. She'd been crying. I saw the pain and anguish on her face. She hadn't known what they were planning to do to me, but she had chosen the Coven over me in the end. If Billy hadn't shut me up, I think maybe I could have gotten through to her, made her change her mind. I believed deep down that I meant more to her than the Coven, but I couldn't be sure. I stared down into my father's face. I had to save him even if meant betraying Kay and myself.

"I'm not the thirteenth daughter."

"It has to be you, CJ," Mr. Martin scoffed. "It's not Makayla."

"No, it's not Kay," I agreed.

His lips thinned to a seamless line. "Don't play games with me.."

"I'm not," I smiled. "The thirteenth daughter is both of us."

"That's not possible," he spat.

"Sara Bishop couldn't stop George Howe from casting the curse, but she did what she could to make it harder for them, for you, to see it through. She cast a spell that split the soul of the thirteenth daughter in two. Daughter of Shadow, Daughter of Light, born not as one, but as two. Kay and I were born in the same minute. Half went into me, half into Kay."

Kay's face blanched. A wave of fear rose up in me. It wasn't mine. It was Kay's. I faltered in my conviction. She was a part of me and I had just handed her over to the crazy people, but hadn't she done the same to me?

Mr. Martin's face paled, but he straightened his shoulders much as I had seen Kay do earlier. "Well, I didn't expect that, but what must be done, will be done. Bring her here."

"NO!" Kay screamed and kicked as Billy hauled over to stand in front of her father. I flinched at the blind terror on her face. Her screams beat at me, tore my soul to shreds.

"Daddy, please," she begged.

"It is your duty, daughter," he told her sternly. "You will do as you are told. Now, this works out nicely. Makayla, as you have dreamed of burning since you were a small child, you shall be the beacon that guides our ancestors home. CJ, your blood shall bind the ashes together and give them shape when they arrive. Yes, indeed. This works out better than I had originally planned."

"You evil bastard," I snarled, unable to stop the rage that washed over me. I could feel Kay's terror the same as I had that night on the boat. Her soul was my soul. We were connected now as we had been on that night. "She's your daughter!"

"And she has made me very proud," Mr. Martin smiled. "Her sacrifice will be remembered by all." He grabbed one of her arms and sliced from wrist to elbow. Her blood flowed down onto the ashes at her feet. When mine mixed with hers, the spell would be complete. There had to be a way to stop this. There had to be, but what?

Mr. Corey and Billy dragged her, fighting with every ounce of strength she had, to the pyre and bound her to it. I had taken the dream from her, but you can't erase thirteen years of remembered pain from the body. It knew what was coming. She may not remember the details, but her body did. I did. I couldn't let them do that to her, but how could I stop it?

"Light it," Mr. Martin commanded.

Mr. Corey set the tinder to flame and it whooshed to life. Kay's screams intensified.

Watching the fire slowly crawl up the branches towards her brought my dream back in vivid detail. I felt the flames lick my own skin, choked on the smoke. It was really happening. They were burning her. What had I done? How could I have let them do that to her? I felt her panic, her terror. It ate away at me. It wouldn't be long before the flames reached her. Deputy Sims still held the gun to my father's head. I had to find a way out of this. I had to save them both.

Mr. Martin turned his back on his daughter. "Bring her here, Matthew."

Ethan pushed me towards him. I looked up at his face. Seeing Kay burn as they had burned Sara had to be affecting him. How could it not? But his face was impassive. There was no emotion there. He was as cold as the unyielding winter winds.

Mr. Martin closed the circle and began the chant once Ethan and I were inside.

"Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, fill our circle with your might,

Spirit, bind them together and close this circle.

Arwan and Agrona, I summon thee here this night

To fulfill a promise made unto our ancestors.

Aide us as we seek vengeance upon those who betrayed us!"

The ground shook and the sky darkened, blotting out the stars. A strong wind tore through the trees and the sound of galloping horses could be heard. They broke through the trees. The leader circled around us. His horse was as black as the night itself and he rode upon it like he was a part of the animal. They were seamless, one blending into the other. His hunting party pranced around him. Arwan, the King of Hell, had come to collect his souls.

A wail sounded, its haunting cry bellowing into the night. We all looked to the south. A woman approached us. She wore a simple gown of white with no adornments upon it. Her long, chestnut hair swayed as it moved with a life of its own. Her eyes were sad and full of pain. I recognized that pain. It was the pain of loss, of grief. She stopped a few feet outside the circle and opened her mouth, her arms outstretched to the heavens. The soul shattering wail emitted from her again. The goddess Agrona had joined us.

Mr. Martin pulled me away from Ethan. Up until that moment, I had hoped by some miracle that Ethan would save me, that it would all be just an act, but he didn't and it wasn't. I thought I'd seen something flicker in his eyes for just a moment in the woods, but I'd been wrong. He handed me over to the devil without so much as a by your leave. I'd held onto the hope that the love I'd seen in his eyes would surface again and he'd rescue me.

That hope died as he passed me over to the Coven Leader.

"Time to begin," Mr. Martin told me.

Kay's screaming echoed in the background, becoming fainter by the minute.

I was alone, truly and utterly alone.