Page 47
The door opens and a line of witches walks forward as though being pushed by an invisible hand.
They include Josephine’s mother Francesca Delvaux, who’s wearing a pressed pantsuit like she’s walking into a business meeting.
Roman and Bram’s father, Vincent Blackthorn, who's being moved forward by a magical pressure, and looking worse for the wear. He’s usually styled in thousand dollar suits and his salt and pepper hair never has a strand out of place.
Tonight, he has an impressive growth of beard covering his face and he looks drawn.
I guess house arrest hasn’t been to his liking.
Behind him is Philip Masters. He’s always been an ass kissing, petty piece of shit.
I’ve never seen him without a smug look on his face, except for right now.
His collared golf shirt is stained and wrinkled, as are his khakis.
His pale brown hair is slicked back off his face with, I’m assuming, his own grease. The man needs a fucking shower.
Ava’s father, Ivan Vandenberg, stumbles in behind Philip, fighting each step with no success. He’s barrel chested with a belly that hangs over his belted pants. This really seems to be the uniform of dickhead men who think they know better than everyone else.
Selene, who was the former leader of the Lumen coven, skitters in with a snarl on her face.
The woman is a bag of bones, one step up from being an actual skeleton.
She’s about as warm as a sack of bones too.
They’re all pieces of shit, but besides Tucker, I hate her the most. She sold out her entire coven for a taste of power.
Finally, at the rear of the group, fighting the magical force pushing him forward, is Tucker Beaumont.
His face is red from rage, but he can’t do anything more than gnash his teeth together.
The magic guides them to a spot before the stage.
People form an arc around the group, leaving space, but not allowing them much room at all.
Lucida looks down on them with disgust. “The council has determined that the punishment for your crimes against the Luminara coven is to strip you of all magic.”
Francesca screams. The six former council members shriek and cry out.
Philip’s shoulders are shaking from his sobs.
Tucker bellows out profanities, cursing out everyone from Lucida to Piper.
He stares at my wife, hate dripping from his gaze.
I step in front of Piper, blocking his view.
She sets a hand on my arm, squeezes, and then pushes me aside.
“It’s okay. I deserve to watch his punishment. I’m owed that much.”
Bram joins Lucida and the rest of the council on stage. Roman and Bram’s father shakes his head, sweat beating on his forehead. He knows what his son is capable of. Bram has shadow magic that can suck the magic right out of a person.
“Are you able to do all six tonight?” Lucida asks, her brow furrowed, as if she’s only now considering this is a lot to ask. “And make it permanent?”
“Yes.” Bram doesn’t take his eyes off his father.
He stretches out his hands and cracks his knuckles as shadows leak from his skin. They fall to the ground, like a rolling fog of darkness. As if a living entity, it crawls over the edge of the stage and branches off in six directions, one for each of the damned council members.
Bram’s magic is so powerful, the hair on my arm and the back of my neck stands up straight as if static electricity surrounds us.
I feel like if I lit a match, this whole place would explode.
In front of us the six council members struggle against Bram’s magic, but the shadows have wrapped around them like a boa constrictor tightening.
Its grip compresses with each second that passes.
Bram is sweating, gritting his teeth together and breathing hard as he sucks the magic out of these people who have done so much harm.
Not just to our friends, but to this entire town.
They are truly awful people whose concern only goes as far as their own wellbeing.
They care nothing for this community. For years, their only goal has been to improve their own situation in life.
Now the repercussions of their actions have come to roost.
One by one, they fall to their knees. The crowd is quiet as Francesca collapses to the ground, shrieking and crying out in frustration.
She has water magic, but she can’t use it right now.
It would do nothing against Bram’s powers anyway.
Philip has crumbled in a sobbing heap like a child.
Bram’s father goes down next, sweat dripping down his face, his skin as pale as a ghost. He bends in half, holding his stomach while his son strips him of his magic.
Selene’s body jerks and twitches, as if she’s a bug being poisoned.
Tucker, one of the biggest men down there, has his legs braced and his arms raised as if he’s ready to swing out with a punch.
But he’s frozen by the shadows that leach every bit of his magic from him.
With a flick of his hands, Bram releases the shadows, his task done. He stumbles back, but Roman is there to catch his brother.
“Are you okay?’
Bram gives him a goofy smile. “That is a lot of fucking magic.” He slurs his words. His shadows swirl around his fingers, dripping off his skin as if he’s so juiced up that he can barely function.
“Jesus, you’re drunk on magic.” Roman sighs.
Ava hurries up on stage and wraps her arm around Bram’s waist. He cups her cheek with one hand and nuzzles the top of her head with his nose.
“There’s my girl. Have I told you today how beautiful you are and how much I love you? You’re the best. I’m so fucking lucky.”
“Okay, buddy. Let’s get you home and let you sleep off whatever this is.”
The rest of us look down at the fallen council. These people who have caused so much damage to so many people. They never thought they would be taken down. They thought they were above the simplest of human decency. Such hubris and now they’ve been brought down to their knees.
Lucida stares down at them, coldness taking over her gaze. “You are banished from this coven. Your magic has been stripped. Let that be the punishment that reminds you every day that you are not above others. Power or not, you’re not free from the consequences of heinous actions.”
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- Page 47 (Reading here)
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