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We dropped hands. When I finally opened my eyes, I took a step back and almost stepped right on someone behind me. Witches surrounded us. They were drawn to us, or the power of us. We were like a beacon, and I didn’t want to sound conceited or anything, but they all looked as if they were staring straight at me. Eyes peeled and in awe, I felt like I was an attraction at the zoo. Murmurs rose up from the crowd. My stomach twisted.

We had their attention. Now we just had to do something about it.

Walter moved to center himself in the middle of the circle, but Travis grabbed his hand and moved forward instead. I smiled to myself. Of course it should be Travis. We were the Salem witches after all. No one would know Walter or trust him.

“What’s going on?” a voice said from the crowd.

Travis, with his dark hair and perfectly calm face moved to the center and commanded the audience’s attention. His shoulders were back, chin held high. Even I, who’d been with him, even slept with the guy, was surprised at the way he worked the crowd. He didn’t tell people to listen to him. They wanted to listen to him. That was a major difference.

“We apologize for the secrecy. Please know that everyone who’s fallen asleep will wake up soon. Some of you know us, some of you don’t. We’re from the Order of the Akasha.”

More murmurs rose. It was as if the Order was a fairy tale to some people, and they were just learning now that it was fully real. Enforcers weren’t just made up superheroes. They were real life badasses.

“We wanted to talk to the magical people of Salem to explain a threat to all of us. You may have noticed the strange happenings around town. The church fires, the influx of hospital admissions… The list goes on. We have a demon that has come to prey on Salem and we need all of your help.”

A shock ran through the crowd. Some witches stared wide-eyed at one another as others all together went pale. “I know this sounds concerning, but we felt it necessary to warn everyone, and to help those we could. You may have already received a call from us, telling you to make sure your personal safeguards are up, and to help those around you. The men and women who started those fires were possessed by this demon. If you can help save even one person, please do so.”

“What are we going to do about it?” someone yelled.

Travis nodded, bringing his fingers in front of his lips. “He will be taken care of. If you see anything suspicious, please let us know. We have a way to defeat the demon, we just need to find him first.”

A dark laugh rose above the crowd. Suppressing anger bared down on my shoulders. So much so that I cringed inwardly and stooped. At once, I felt the very real demonic presence surround us. The hate. Anger. Fear. Lies. Every negative thought one could ever have was like a sopping wet blanket on all our shoulders.

The voice spoke, ricocheting around the park as if it came from a concert speaker, complete with echo and reverberation. The voice was Jax’s but darker and more threatening. “You. Are. Fools.”

15

My heart thudded in my chest like the beat of angry drums. Surprise had ricocheted through me when the demon made himself known, but that wasn’t the main emotion spiraling through me. Anger. Hatred. Everything I’d ever been mad about bubbled to the surface. Now when I looked at Dean’s sister who stood so close to my Gabe, I wanted to wring her neck. I wanted to squeeze it until she turned blue then lifeless. When I stared at my coven, I hated the fact that they’d brought me here. Hated that I’d had to deal with so much just because of them. Because of the stupid pull. I glared at the back of Travis’s head for not wanting me from the beginning. Because he hadn’t liked me, I hadn’t liked him.

Dean Reid had hurt me. A growl ripped through my throat as I spotted his silhouette in the crowd.

But then there was Liam. He turned toward me, the blankest of looks on his face. He tilted his head in that serene manner, staring at me as if he was trying to figure me out like one of the equations in his textbooks. “What’s wrong, Norah?”

In the crowd, people started to argue. Family member turned on family member. Randy bumped into Travis and they started swinging.

But Liam, he took my cheeks in his hands and made me look at him. “Don’t let him do this to you. Don’t let him take over who you are.”

A flicker of light sparked within me. I knew the feelings that had started to burn weren’t right. I knew that although I had felt them in the past, they didn’t consume me. That was it, wasn’t it? That was the point. You could admit your negative feelings, but you didn’t let them rule your life. You could admit that you were selfish, that you were afraid, that sometimes you told lies, but you should always strive to be a better person.

“Live in the light,” Granny’s voice said.

I blinked, and she was standing just beyond Liam, her eyes wide and hopeful.

“Norah Girl, it’s like I always told you. Live in the light. No matter what, live in the light. In the truth. In the beauty. Be who you are.”

I blinked at her. She looked almost real this time. There were no clouds billowing out around her, but clear as day. She reached out. And this time, when she touched my face, she touched my face. I felt the imprint of her fingers on my skin. She closed her eyes in a sigh and I closed my own right with her, imprinting this memory inside me for all eternity.

“Do it, Norah Girl. You can.”

To combat all the hate, I thought of all the love I had. I pictured seeing Randy for the first time. How attracted to him I was with his tattoos and muscles. I thought of my first time with Liam. How sweet and shy he was, but also how determined. In my head, I saw Gabe laughing, and how that always made me smile. And Travis. Pig-headed boy that he was didn’t mean I loved him any less. I felt the feelings grow inside me. I felt them burn bright until my skin pricked again and my body warmed instantly.

“Holy hell,” Liam said.

When I opened my eyes, I agreed with his sentiment. I was burning purple white. Purple as bright as could be closer to my skin, but as it moved away, it turned into white streaks. I focused on the feelings and spread them far and wide. The demon fed off hate. I understood that now. I’d always understood it, but he’d made it apparent right at this moment.

The demon still spoke, but I was drowning it out. He called out to those who held so much hate inside them. He called out, asking for them to join him. He said there was still so much to do here That it wouldn’t stop at church fires and madness. He said the people of Salem deserved it. That they’d persecuted those like us all those years ago and now they made a mockery of what witches really were.

I didn’t think anyone believed in that bullshit, but it was easier for a negative person to fall down the rabbit hole than someone who thrived on good when someone spewed hate.