Page 31 of April's Fool (Northarbor Coven Book 2)

Safety

Amorandes

If Damon thought that leading the coven was the only shocker of the day, well, he was going to be horrified at what else Poppy and Zinna had to confess.

Leaving Damon to take Basil on himself almost tore me in two. My protective side wanted to be with Damon, to ensure his safety. Yet I knew someone had to stay behind with the vulnerable witches and baby.

When he vanished out the door, chasing after Basil, I stayed behind to guard the others. It was the least I could do. This whole mess felt like my fault. I had made Cody and Basil hated Cody.

No, thinking like that was wrong. Basil hated shifters, demons, and half his own coven. He only hated Cody because he was a challenge to Basil’s power. Basil feared the unknown and lashed out at it. If Basil had been rational, he would have known my sweet boy would never have been the coven leader. Even if the book had chosen him, the witches wouldn’t. Basil wasn’t the only one to see demons as lesser, as tools .

So I took up guarding the witches who had treated me with respect and dignity. They didn’t give me pause.

Besides, as a demon, I was prevented from causing harm to humans. Witches were a gray area. My magic wasn’t particularly effective on them and with five beings to protect, a physical altercation was out of the question. Unlike Damon, I wasn’t armed.

The baby cried in her crib. I went to her, let her see me, before I attempted to pick her up. She quieted a fraction. As a witch baby, she would have been sensitive to the magic in the air.

Sage looked at me with huge dark eyes, reminding me of her mama Zinna. She held traces of both witches thanks to the magic they performed to conceive her. The same or similar magic Cody and Toth could use to have their own child.

I rocked her while Damon chased after Basil and tried to get the book back. My fears grew the longer the witches were unconscious and Damon was gone. Anything could happen to him and I was stuck holding a baby. It was the right thing to do, but I wanted to be by his side.

Poppy was the first to stir, then, as if Poppy had summoned her into waking, Zinna opened her eyes. Oak and Thyme were a little worse for wear, though they soon woke too .

The women approached me unsteadily. When they could stand properly, I handed Sage to Poppy. She shared a look with Zinna I didn’t understand then. There was grief behind it.

It was only moments later when Damon returned, his clothes torn and a couple of bruises blooming on his body.

Our reunion was too short, there was so much to discuss, when Poppy dropped her bomb about the coven.

Damon’s expression spoke all the words he couldn’t say; his horror over the responsibility, how uncomfortable he felt over the magic, the hidden pride at being chosen.

Finally, something had picked him.

He just didn’t realize I’d picked him as my chosen mate as soon as I’d met him, since he proved what a pure heart he had.

Unfortunately, Poppy had more bombs in her arsenal. “We need to seal this room. What I’m about to say cannot go anywhere else.” Her stress was obvious. She leaned on her wife as Zinna comforted the baby.

Thyme and Oak exchanged a loaded glance, then set to work on soundproofing the room as Damon stood stock still, holding the grimoire. He was alternating between looking at it with scorn and awe. At any moment, he might just decide to say “fuck it,” and throw the book out the window.

“Are you okay?” I asked, breaking him from his staring match with the book.

“Huh?” He met my eyes. “No. This is fucked up. I’m barely a witch and now this!” He shook the book. “This bullshit! I don’t want to be a coven leader. I can’t be!”

Damon walked up to Poppy, crossing the room in a handful of steps. “Here, take it back. Be the High Witch.”

Poppy waited for the signal from Thyme and Oak that the room was sealed. “I can’t take it because I don’t have any magic.”

“Explain this again for me really slowly. Like I have a head injury, which I might because Basil can pack a punch.” Damon had given up on standing. He had righted the sofa and pulled me down to sit with him.

Poppy and Zinna were sharing another while Thyme and Oak perched on the arms of ours.

“Basil needed to break my hold with the book. He and I were about matched with power. It accepted you, Damon, because your mother gave you so much of her own magic when she sealed you. Some of it returned to Thyme, so technically, both of you are more powerful than I was.”

Damon glared at Thyme and muttered something unkind, which made Oak muffle a chuckle. Thyme ignored them both.

“That doesn’t explain why yours and Zinna’s magic is gone,” Thyme said, staying on task.

“After the call went out about the attack, Basil found his way here. He tried everything to get the book. Then he took his amulet out of his pocket. It was the darkest thing I’d ever felt.” Poppy paused, clearly upset. Zinna comforted her, staying strong for the both of them.

“We were fighting back with our magic. Just… every spell we did, they bounced right off,” Zinna explained. “No, that’s not quite right. They were absorbed.”

“Yes! Absorbed!” Poppy added. “Not just that, they seemed to suck our magic in each time. It was impossible. Basil was firing all this magic, which we ended up just defending ourselves from. By the time the last blast went off, we had nothing. We’re practically human.”

The word echoed around the room while we all sat in shock.

“What can we do? How can we fix this?” Thyme asked.

“The elves,” Oak answered, surprising us all. “We can’t turn to other witches. You are both too vulnerable right now. Other covens would take this as an opportunity to take over this one. It has to be the elves. We’ve learned from spending time with the pack that our magics are compatible.”

“We need to find that amulet. We fought pretty hard, there’s a chance he left more than the book behind.” Damon’s mouth was set in a hard line.

“Okay, well, I can call Kade and ask about the elves to see if they will help us while you look for the amulet. The stone is blood red, almost black.” Poppy took out her phone, the screen cracked, yet still working, and dialed her friend.

The call was short. “They’re coming by portal. Oak, could you go let them in? Zin, could you pack us some stuff? They want us to stay with them.”

Zinna nodded. She began packing a bag; the baby nestled carefully against her shoulder in a sling.

Damon asked me to join him in his search for the amulet. This was one task I could help him with, since the magic would have a trace in the air.

“Close your eyes,” I said, taking his hand in mine. We were away from the others, tracing the path Damon had run following Basil.

“Okay.” Damon complied, trusting me implicitly.

“Feel the magic in the air? Not me or you. All around us there is magic. Each kind has a sort of signature. Can you pick out the dark thread? ”

He was silent for some time. “Got it.” My pride in him grew when I saw it matched in his own face. Damon deserved to feel good about his magic. Wanted or not, this was his new reality, he shouldn’t fear it.

We followed the magic until I caught a glint under a curtain. “There!” I bent to pick it up.

“Careful! Wrap it in the curtain. Just in case.”

He was right, of course, to be wary.

Amulet in hand, we returned to the others in time to hear one of the elves make an announcement.

“Ah, you have it. Perfect.” He took the amulet from Damon with a restrained smile. Elves were interesting as a species. This one could have been anywhere from thirty to five hundred. There was no telling.

“As soon as we have you checked over by our healers,” he continued, storing the amulet in his coat pocket, “we will take you to Abrocaelum.”

“Abrocaelum?” I asked.

“The elf and fae realm. It is where the study of magic is most proficient and should return the stolen power to Poppy and Zinna.”

He turned to the women, who stood anxiously with the Sweetwater Second and some guards. This elf was important. Another stood close to the Second protectively, long white blond, almost silver hair cascading down his back .

“Shall we go?” He waited for their assent before the silver haired elf drew a portal. The wards all fell without so much as a blink from the elf. By the magic, he was strong. Old.

We stood by as the elves, shifters, the two women and their baby all walked through the portal, leaving us behind.

“What now?” Damon asked.