Lonely Graves Read online

  “Beingacoven?”Chrysieasked,soundingsad.

  “What’swrongwithyou?”Iasked,ignoringFelix.

  “I’mnotawitch.Ican’tbepartoftheclub.”

  “Ofcourseyoucan,”Felixsaid,softlysluggingherintheshoulder.

  “Youprobablycan’tleadanyspells,”Isaid.“ButIdon’t’seewhyyoucan’tbe partofthem.”

  Abitofspringcamebacktoherstepatthatandshegrinnedwithoutsayinga word.

  “Whatdon’tyoulike?”ChrysieaskedFelix.

  “I don’t like leaving it to Saffron. We don’t know her. We don’t know what she’lldoorifwe’llbecomfortablewithit.”

  “Wecan’tgoafteradarkwitch,Felix.Wedon’thavethatskillset.”

  “Youhaveyourarsenal.”

  “AndyousawwhathappenedwhenIusedit.We’reluckytobealive.”

  “Ijustdon’tlikeit.”

  Damnit,Ithought.Damnit.Thiswasthekindofstuffthatmadeyouendup beingafreakingkeeperandhavingtodothingslikeriskyourlife.

  “We could join another coven,” Chrysie said, sounding sad again. Only a covenwemadewouldletherin.Weallknewit.

  “Can you honestly see Rue letting anyone else tell her what to do?” Felix asked.

  Chrysiegiggledatthethought.

  “She’s like a wolf. Some other pack comes into town and suddenly she’s all bristlingandmean.”

  “Rude,”Isaid.

  “Butsotrue,”Chrysielaughed.

  “Shut up,” I said, grateful to have reached the college library, so I could escape.Iranupthestepsignoringthemagiclaidintothebuildinganddownthe halltowardsJessie’sdesk.Jessiewasoneofmyfewotherfriends.

  Ournormalhumanfriend,Cyruswaswithher.

  “Saveme,”IpleadasIdroppedintoachairacrossfromJessie’sdesk.

  “YouguysknowI’mworking,right?”

  “Whatever,” I said and leaned the chair back to put my feet up on Jessie’s desk.

  “We’regonnamakeacoven,”Chrysiepipedassheskippeddownthehallto

  joinusfollowedbyFelixseverallazypacesbehind.

  “Really?” Jessie was excited. Really, I thought. Why? She was an excellent witch.Shecouldjoinanycoven.Iwaskindofsurprisedshedidn’talreadyhave one.

  “Iwanttobepart,”JessiesaidasCyrusspokeuptoo.

  “Iwantin.”Heshiftedhisgaze,probablythinkingwewouldn’tlethim.

  “Kay,”ChrysierepliedassheleanedagainstJessie’sdesk.

  “Arewetakingallthestrayswhoapply?”Felixaskedashetookthelastchair.

  “Hey,” Cyrus protested. He was a normal human who had barely started to learntousemagic.Or,rather,failatusingmagic.

  “I meant Jessie,” Felix said. “ Of course you’re in. We have to have at least oneotherdude.”

  “Not nice,” Jessie said as she typed into her computer. She didn’t stop working,justtalkedasshewent.

  “Whatdoyouknowaboutdarkmagic?”Chrysieasked.

  I sighed and closed my eyes tighter thinking if I squeezed hard enough I wouldn’tbeabletohear.Jessiehadstoppedtypingandpossiblybreathing.

  “Whydoyouask?”Hervoicewassoverycareful.

  “Wecameacrosssignsofdarkspells,”Felixsaid,andhetoldthestorywith occasionalinputfromChrysie.

  “But this Saffron is going to find the dark witch?” James asked, sounding relieved.

  “Supposedly,”Felixsaid.

  “Whatdoesthatmean?”Cyrusasked.IcrackedmygazetoseeJessiestaring atus,takingitallin,butatalossforwords.

  “Felixdoesn’ttrusther,”Chrysieanswered.

  “NeitherdoesRue,”Felixsaid.

  “Leavemeoutofit,”Ibegged.

  “We can’t,” Chrysie said gently. “You’re the coven leader. And this is our territory.”

  I closed my eyes again, leaned forward, and let my head pound into Jessie’s desk.Itdidn’thelp.Myonlyreplywas,“SweetHecate.”

  “Sowe’llhavetogetstartedwithouther,”Chrysiewenton.“SinceRueisstill indenial.”

  “Wehavetoregisterourcovenwiththecollege,”Jessiesaid.

  “No,”Isaidinstantly.

  “It’sintherules.Allcampuscovenshavetoregister.”

  “LastIcheckedHallowHousewasn’toncampus.”

  “ButCyrusandIare,”Jessiesaid.

  “Iliveoff-campus,”Cyrussaidhelpfully.“Withabunchofguys.”

  “Move in with us,” Chrysie offered without asking me. Which was fine. I didn’tcareifJessiemovedin.Wehadlike14openbedrooms.

  “Really?”Jessiebreathed.ShewassotakenabackthatIopenedmyeyes.

  “Youcouldhavealwaysmovedin,”Itoldher.

  Shestaredforamomentbeforeshereplied,“Well,tellagirl.”

  “Yeah,”Chrysiesaid.“Tellagirl.”

  “CanIhavearoomwithaworkspace?”

  “Martha will show you the open rooms. Pick one,” I said, not caring which shechose.

  “Really?”

  I laughed even though they were smothering me with their enthusiasm. I wasn’tagainstacoven.Butadarkwitch.Damn.Anddamnagain.

  “Wedon’thaveanarsenalfordarkwitches.”

  “We could just try to find them,” Jessie said. “And…like…alert the authorities.”

  “ThePresidium?”Idon’thaveanyfaithinthemevenifHazelknewthemand called them herself when we’d found witches who’d murdered their kid on the

  island.

  “WecouldcallElisabeth,”Chrysieofferedupthewitchturnedvampirewho

  hadchangedChrysie.“Shewouldknowwhowecouldtrusttohelpus.”

  “WecouldleaveittoSaffron,”Isaidagain,notlikingwhatIsaidanymore thantheothers.

  I glanced around. Felix shook his head. Chrysie made a no face. And Cyrus saidnothing.ButIcouldseeinhiseyesthathedidn’tagree.

  “Fine,” I replied. “But we do this together. No one goes out alone. Etcetera.

  Etcetera.”

  “Yesfearlessleader,”Felixagreed.Hegrinnedatme.

  “NoMonica,”Iadded.

  “Shehasacoven,”hegrinnedentirelyunbothered.

  “Butstill,”Chrysieadded,“NoMonica.”

  CHAPTERFIVE

  “I found like a hundred spells for finding things,” Jessie said. “But I think theseonesmightbethebest.They’remoretowardsfindingpeopleorthingsyou didn’thavebefore.”

  Shehandedmealistoftwentyspells.

  “Butwhichonedoyouthinkistheverybest?”

  Sheshrugged.

  “Pickoneandaroom,”Isaid.IhadaskedMarthatoleadmetoaroomthat wouldworkforgroupmagic.Unshockingly,sheledmetoonethathadclearly beenusedforthatpurposetimeandagain.Iputmyhandsonmyhipsandspun.

  Itwasalargeroomthatwouldholdquiteacrowd.Therewasafeelofoldmagic intheair.

  “We’llneedtocleanseit,”Isaidtomyself,butFelixanswered.

  “I’m sorry I’m pushing you towards this dark witch. I know you don’t want to.”

  Iturnedtofacehim.Heseemedtohavegottentaller,butIrealizedthathewas juststandingupstraight.Ilookedathimforalongmoment,takinginthechange ofair.

  “Idon’twanttobekeeper,”Itoldhim.“Thisfeeltoomuchlikeasteptowards that.”

  “Whydon’tyouwanttobekeeper?”ItwasCyruswhoasked.Hewasinthe

  doorw
ayandChrysieandJessiewerebehindhim.

  “Otherthanmymotherwhoranforherlife,”Istarted,“Theothertwokeepers thatIknowofforthisthinningdied.Horribly.Doingtheirjob.Iamtheeldestof theeldestoftheeldestoftheHallow.Andtheotherlinesareallprettydistant.

  Youknowwhatthatsaystome?”

  “Thatyourfamilyalldiedbeforetheyhadkids,”Felixanswered.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I don’t particularly want to die I am fine with this calling going to some other line of idiots. But also if you’re learning necromancy you aren’tlearningotherthings.TherearesomanywitchcraftthingsIwanttolearn.

  Choosingnecromancymeanslettingthosego.”

  Felixnoddedonce,acceptingmyanswerandtheothersletitthesubjectdrop without further questions. Cyrus disappeared into the hall. Chrysie followed Jessietohelpherfindaroom.AndIsaid,“Martha,canyouopenthewindows?”

  Thewindowsanddoorsopened.

  I started to do the cleansing spell and then thought better of it. So I waited untilwe’dallgatheredagainandledtheminacleansingspell.ItwasbasicandI was sure that Felix and Jessie at least had done it many times. But, we did it together and the power of it was different. I had never lead a spell before. I’d onlylearnedthetheory.Andinleading,youfeltthemagicoftheothers.Icould feeltheburningfireofFelix’s.HewasfarstrongerthanIhadsuspected.Jessie’s magicwasadeeppool.Clearandlovely.

  The magic of Cyrus and Chrysie was there. Tiny flames in comparison, but theyaddedtothestrength.IdirectedsomeofthemagicbackintoChrysieand saw her cheeks bloom with color. I directed some at Cyrus, tickling his magic until he felt it. He stared at me, shocked. And then he laughed,a guffaw of a laughthatsetChrysieintogiggles.

  This. This was why Hazel trusted Saffron. Hazel had been able to feel the flavor and depth of Saffron’s magic. She had been able to feel, I bet, Saffron’s emotions. At least on occasion. I felt so much better about Saffron finding the darkwitch.SomuchbetteraboutherlivinginMarthawithus.Somuchbetter aboutheringeneral.

  *

  Thefindingspellwasabarelyvisiblelinethatwentfromusto…wherever.I had the most intense sense of what-the-hell were we doing? I wanted to call Hazel,butshe’dtoldmetoleaveitSaffron.Iwantedtocallmymotherbutshe was proving herself to be like she always had been; more and more untrustworthy.Whatdidyoudowhenyourparent,whoyouloveandwholoved you,wasbadforyou?Godsandmonsters.

  IwantedtocallBran,butshehadn’tbeenansweringfordays.Ididn’tknow whattodowiththat.IhadcalledDaddyearlierthatday,andhe’dsoundedupset buthadsaidnothing.Hadleavinghomedestroyedmyfamily?Ourbalancehad been so precarious, and I was coming to the lengthy and undesired conclusion thatallwasnotwell.

  But I couldn’t go back. And I couldn’t fix it. You couldn’t fix dysfunction withafewwell-chosenwordsoveralongweekend.WherethehellwasBran?

  WhattheHELLwerewedoing?HowhadIgottentothisplace?Iwasrunning

  some sort of poor man’s dorm in a freaking mansion. I had started my own covenwhenIhadn’tevenbeenabletoleadspellsathome.Ihad…Iwasrunning aroundblithelydoingwhateverIwantedandignoringthosearoundmeandtheir advice.Andyet…

  Andyet…ascrazyasthisseemed,anditdidbothseemandfeelcrazy,italso feltright.Itfeltrightlikethecalmofthemorning,whentheskywasstillgray andeverythingwasstill.

  Felixwasnexttome.Chrysiewasahead,sortofdancingassheleadtheway whileJessieandCyrusfollowed.Iglancedoverandsaid,“Ifwehavetorunfor ourlives,you’regoingtodiefirst.”

  Hegrinnedashesaid,“Yeah.”

  “Giventhatwe’retryingtotrackdownadarkwitch,likeapackoffoolswho wanttodie,youprobablyshouldbealittlemoreconcerned.”

  He grinned again, full of mischief and a touch of madness and said, “These aretheitemsthattrymen’ssouls.”

  “Sowhoareyouplanningtotrip?”

  “Cyrus,”Felixansweredimmediately.“He’sthenewestandI’mtheleastfond ofhim.”

  I grinned and took a sip of my energy potion, handing him a vial. Might as wellgivehimafightingchance.“YouknowthatMonicacanprobablybeatyou up.”

  “Ohforsure,”Felixagreed.“Youseemglum.”

  I shook my head, but yeah. I was a bit glum. I had been since I’d tried, yet again,togetaholdofmysister.Ijustnodded.

  “What’shappening,mightyleader?”

  “Other than you guys conned me into chasing after a dark witch when it’s clearlygoingtoleadtoourdeathanddestruction?”

  “Thatfeelsredundant,”hesaid,punchingmeonthearm.

  “Youfeelredundant,”Ireplied.

  “Ohforsure.So,nicetryonevading,butwhat’swrong?”

  “Ican’tgetaholdofmysister,”Isaid.

  “Whatdoyourwitchysensessay?”

  Iglancedoverandthenbacktothetrailwewerefollowing,justsoIwouldn’t havetomeethistooinsightfuleyes.“Theysayshe’salive.”

  “Issheindanger?”

  Istartedtoansweredandthenthoughtaboutwhatacrazyquestionthatwas.

  Wassheindanger?Yes.ButBranoftenwas.Wassheindangerrightthen?No.

  Butsomethingwaswrongallthesame.Ishruggedinreply.Icouldn’texplain.I wasn’tconnectedmentallytomysister.Icouldn’tspeaktohermentally.But…

  when I followed the strings of my heart to her, I often knew some things I probablyshouldn’tbeabletoknow.

  “It’sveeringintotheoakgrove,”Chrysiesaid.“Thewilderpart.”

  “Ofcourseitis,”Isaid.

  “Ofcourse,”Felixagreed.

  WeglancedbackandsawJessieandCyrus.Theywereasunsurprisedasthe

  restofus,thoughCyrusseemedtobefarmoreconcerned.Itwasn’tthatIdidn’t

  worry. I was worrying big time. But I also thought that if I were to go evil, I would definitely do my evil spells either in the basement of an abandoned buildingorthewoods.Giventhatthepathledfurtherandfurtherfromtown,I figuredwewouldendupatsomelonelycabininthewoodsorpossiblyacave.

  Someominousplace.

  How very wrong I was. The path led through the oak grove, onto a hillside, andupawindingcurvetoasmallneighborhoodofbeautifulhouseswithviews ofthecountryside.

  Myeyeswerecaughtupintheprettycapecodbluehousewithwhiteshutters andwidewindows.Thegrasswasperfect,theflowerswerestillblooming,and thehedgesweretrimmed.

  “Is that our car?” Felix’s voice cut through my observations to the ancient stationwagon.

  “Nooneelsecouldpossiblyhaveacarlikethat.Wherearethekeys?”

  “Ilefttheminthebowlonthetable,”Felixsaid.

  “Gods,ithastobeSaffron,”Jessiesaid.

  “Well shiz,” I muttered. And then because I was angry, I told the others to scatterandmarchedupthedrive.

  “What the?” Felix said loudly enough to carry to me and then I heard him scuttlingbehindme.Iturnedtofindhislong,lankyformbackingmeup.“You aren’tgoinguptherealone.”

  “What?We’rejusttryingtofindthecar,”Itoldhim.

  HeraisedabrowandthenIknockedonthedoorbeforehecouldtellmehow stupidIwas.Yes.Obviously.Sostupid.

  The door was opened by a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She hadbrownfrizzyhair,paleblueeyes,palewhite
skin,andsheremindedmeof someone.OnlyIcouldn’tplaceher.ThatisuntilSaffronsteppedupbehindher.

  Saffron was gorgeous. This other woman was like the ugly version of Saffron.

  Softontheedgesratherthansharp.

  “Rue?”

  “Wecouldn’tfindthecar,”Isaidlamely.

  IcouldseeSaffrondidn’tbelieveme,butshesmiledandsaid,“Ambria,thisis mycoven-sisterVerucaJones.”

  InoticedthatSaffronhadbypassedmylinktotheHallowfamilyandIcould seethatshewastensearoundhermouthandhereyeswereblazinginfury.

  “Hi, I’m sorry,” I said, all bubbly while I quested forward with my witch sensesasdelicatelyasIcould.IwaspushedbackbeforeIcouldbypasseventhe threshold of the house. “I didn’t realize you’d take the car and we were concernedthatsomeonewasplayingaprankonus.”

  Felix nodded and said nothing. I wondered if he noticed the resemblance between the two. Probably. Felix might look like a idiot, pot smoking, college student,butthatwasturningouttobetheoppositeofthetruth.

  “I’msorryyoudidn’tseemynote,”Saffronsaid.

  “Musthavegotshuffledaway,”Ilied,butSaffronknewIwaslying.Idon’t thinktheotherwitchknewmewellenough.ButSaffronIveswasnofool,and she’dbeenamemberofmycovenforthelastfewyears.I’msureshehadheard ofsomeofthetroublethatBrankaandIhadgotteninto.

  Neither of us were angels. Both of us would have interfered. If Bran were here,Idon’tthinkSaffronwouldhavetrustedusoutofthehousewhileshewas doingherownsleuthing.

  “It’sfine,Iwasjustleavinganyway.Icangiveyouaridebacktothehouse,”

  Saffronsaid.Ididn’tpointoutthatitwasmycar.Andmyhouse.Andshewas my guest. Or that she was pushing far past the boundaries of what I felt to be safe.

  Instead,Iletherleadthewaytothecar.FelixandIgotinthebacktogether.I sawhimtextingChrysieandtheotherstoheadbackandnotstickaround.

  “Thatwasutterlyandcompletely,stupidlydangerous,”Saffronhissed,asshe backedupourwagon.

  I didn’t owe her an explanation, so instead I asked, “Why are you here, Saffron?”