The Opal Witch

Chapter Thirty-Four: Destruction

Lux

Blinded by the light, Lux pitched forward, her foot catching the lip of the cellar entrance. Daphne's nails dragged across her skin as the older woman tried to hold on, but the force of impact removed her hand with a stinging rip. Moist earth filled Lux's mouth as her chin slid across the ground. She rolled over and spat out mud, swiping at her face and squinting into the night.

Audra, Ruby, Sara Elizabeth, and Brooke stood several feet away, their bodies glowing as they spun a spell and flung it at Daphne as the woman tried to rise to her feet. With her grandmother's stone in her hand, she could hear their thoughts. Each one was an echo of another, the spell a constant chant as they fought to keep the older witch down.

"Enough," Daphne shouted, slapping her hand against the earth. The ground rippled around them, sending the girls to their knees. But still they chanted.

"Kitty," Lux said, spying her friend nearby the cellar. The doors were closed, and Lux prayed Memaw and Declan were okay. Kitty was sitting on her backside, eyes wide with terror as she watched the Circle. "Kitty, are you okay?"

Her friend turned her head, the movement like gears grinding. Another emotion drowned out the terror as their eyes locked, but it was washed away by the appearance of Travis at her side.

The gangly teenager threw his arms around Kitty before reaching for Lux. Tear tracks across his cheeks connected his freckles. Freckles bright against skin that was too pale. He'd not yet recovered.

Lux grasped his hand and squeezed. "Travis, you shouldn't be here."

"Like hell. My girls went missing. You think something like a little ordered bed rest is going to keep me away. Even if it was spent in the company of the finest male specimen I've ever seen- nope. My girls come first."

Lux warmed at his words, but Kitty shrank, drawing her shoulders in as she rose to her feet. "We've got to help the others," she told him, averting her eyes from the other girl.

"Let's stop this bitch," he said, slamming his fist into his palm.

"Kitty? Whatever she's got on you- it doesn't matter. Stand with us." Travis's brows dipped, confusion clear on his face, but Lux didn't bother to explain. He would know soon enough. And from the way the ground shifted beneath her feet as Daphne rallied, she knew there wasn't time. "I still love you."

Kitty's lip trembled and water filled her eyes as she straightened her spine. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"No," she whispered, stepping back and raising her hands. The emerald on her wrist glowed.

She'll kill me. Like a black rose, Kitty's thought bloomed in her mind.

"I'm sorry for this," the girl said.

A rending sound drew Lux's attention to the right. Kudzu, left untended, had latched onto the house, but the earth witch called to it, ripping it from the old boards with snaps and groans. The shredded vine hovered in the air, the shimmer of the spell curling about its leaves. For one second it remained still, as if its master was hesitating, but with the whisper of a single word from Kitty's lips, it rushed forward.

Travis shoved Lux out of its way, his long limbs becoming entangled in the stubborn plant. Weeks of training had put lean muscle on his form, but it was not enough to break free from the magically strengthened vine. It curled about him until only his eyes were visible, and when they closed, Kitty let him drop.

There were many things Lux could forgive. Kitty's betrayal was one of them. But watching the fight fade from a friend who'd been drawn into this mess because of his love for them both, broke something in her. A wild wind whipped through the trees, filling the air with a hiss of leaves and clacking of branches. The silver beneath her skin, which had faded after the flash of light, was back in full force.