Page 26 of The Redd Key (Bone Coven #1)

“H e’s all yours!” I smiled warmly at Jeff. He met RJ and me as we looped back down Mapleshade. “I think this guy had enough trick-or-treating.” My little brother hauled the massive pillowcase full of candy, over his shoulder.

“I did my job as the only kid left in this family,” RJ grunted as he flopped onto the ground as his feet. “I got the goods, for you and Dad. I don’t even like sweets that much.” He shook his head, innocently befuddled by the enormous stash of treats. “Just leave some Swedish Fish for me, please.” RJ made it a point to look, both me and Jeff in the eyes.

“Hell yes,” Jeff said, enthusiastically eyeing the bag.

“So, can we talk really quickly,” I cautiously asked. Jeff obviously wanted to deflect my desire to discuss all the magical chaos with him by grabbing the sack of candy and making a beeline for their house. RJ and I slowly followed.

As I arrived in the living room, Jeff squatted and pulled out a couple of peanut butter cups. “What are we watching first?” He headed over to the couch, with his handful of sweets, as RJ bounded up the stairs.

“Bride of Frankenstein,” RJ yelled over his shoulder. For the last couple of years, the two of them kept up the tradition of watching classic monster movies on Halloween after being done with trick-or-treating for the night. It was something our dad used to do with Jeff every year. “Don’t start til I’m back down.”

“Jeff,” I said, taking a step closer to the couch. He didn’t look at me. “Can we—”

“We’re not talking about it, Raina.” The sharpness in his tone took me aback.

“We have to,” I pressed on, bringing my voice down to a sharp whisper. “You stopped that person from killing us.” Jeff shot me an intent look.

“I didn’t do anything.” His voice was raw, yet the sincerity didn’t reach his eyes.

“Yes, you did. You fought back when we couldn’t,” I sighed. He cocked his head to the side. Our magic—Sarah, Bridget, and mine—did nothing against our attacker on the docks. If Jeff hadn’t been there…

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jeff spit out, almost inaudibly as RJ’s footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.

“Fine. Not tonight, then. But I will annoy the hell out of you until we finally talk about it. And please,” I waited for him to turn to face me before continuing, “Be careful. Don’t do anything like you did at the docks in front of anyone else. There might be others targeting people like us.”

“I’m not like—,” he started to say as RJ walked back into the room.

“You’re not staying?” RJ asked me as I moved toward the front door. It was nearly time to meet with the girls.

“Not this time, bud. I had fun with you, though. I’m meeting some friends for the Halloween Ball tonight.” I nearly forgot about the growing tension between Jeff and me, as he became intrigued.

“There’s a Ball?” he scoffed, feigning disinterest.

“Yes, at Town Hall.” My hand paused on the doorknob. “I’ll be there around nine with Bridget and Sarah.” I didn’t need to see the look on his face, knowing he reacted to hearing Bridget’s name, because RJ’s giggle gave Jeff away. Jeff huffed.

I double-stacked my backpack and weekender bag on my shoulder as I approached Bridget’s stone house. Hauling the load containing half of my closet and all of my makeup took more effort than it should have. By the time I made it down the walkway and to the front door, I was panting.

“That’s all you brought?” Bridget raised her brow in sarcastic judgment as I entered her home. It was evidently historic, with exposed beams and plastered walls. It had been retrofitted with HVAC and electricity, though somehow the modern comforts did not take away from the home’s original character.

Sarah sat on the floor next to a full-length mirror, surrounded by makeup palettes of all sorts, and a couple of hot hair tools which were plugged into the wall next to a stone fireplace.

“Hi, Rai.” Sarah’s words were muffled by the bobby pins between her lips. She spit them out and took a sip from the stemless wine glass beside her on the hardwood floor. The deep red liquid almost sloshed out of the rim from her exaggerated movements. “Want a drink?” she offered.

Bridget appeared, holding out a matching glass before I could even answer. I placed my bags down next to the mirror before taking the drink from her. I took a skeptical sip of the scarlet liquid, very pleased to see it was Sangria. “What are our options?” she asked as I pulled the Archer Book of Shadows out of my backpack.

“Oh!” Sarah yelped as she jumped up. She ran out of the room and brought back the enormous tome I had seen in her grandmother’s shop. She haphazardly dropped the giant book on the floor next to where I sat down to start doing my own makeup. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, Bridget and I jerked at the noise. “What? It’s sturdy.” She shrugged at our shocked faces. “Anywhooo…” Sitting back down, Sarah dragged out the word, then quickly drank from her cup and swallowed. “I found this,” she squeaked with a shake of her shoulders. She excitedly flipped through the pages and placed both palms down to smooth the pages. When she stopped, the words “Veil of Ravishment” were spelled out in intricate fuchsia lettering. “How perfect is it?” Sarah beamed, her voice thickening from the Sangria.

Looking over Sarah’s shoulders, I scanned the spell’s instructions, which called for gemstones and crystals, herbal perfume, and an incantation. Having planned ahead, Sarah pulled all of the listed necessities from a small suitcase she brought with her.

“Also, I should let you guys know something.” Bridget stood in the entry between the sitting room where we sat and the adjacent dining room, biting her lip and genuinely looking uncomfortable. “I tried creating one of my own spells, since I don’t have a Book of Shadows.” Her eyes followed my glass of Sangria as I took a sip. “It feels kind of wrong that I didn’t tell you both ahead of time.”

“Ok, well what did you do? Did it work?” I asked hopefully, dying with anticipation to see what Bridget could do with her magic.

“I guess, we won’t know right away,” Bridget said, picking at the hem of her mini skirt. It was very unlike her to be this nervous. In the two months I had known her, although it felt like we had been bonded for lifetimes, I had never once seen Bridget this vulnerable. My only concern was why she would suddenly feel so uncomfortable.

“What did you do?” Sarah echoed the question, her tone lilting and singsong. The alcohol seemed to already be having an effect on her.

“Nothing really—I just mixed the ingredients for the Sangria with the intention of making us forget about all of our problems.” Bridget looked between Sarah and me. “A bit more…devil-may-care, if you will.”

The moment she said the words, I felt it. A giddiness rolled through me, and I snorted, laughing. “You magically roofied us?” Bridget’s face drained all color, and she opened her mouth to protest. Sarah started giggling uncontrollably. “I’m messing with you, B! Obviously, you didn’t drug us. I am just teasing!” I quickly added as Bridget looked as if she was about to cry.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Bridget protested over Sarah’s laughter. “And it’s literally the typical ingredients! I just used Aecor and intentions while making it,” she added sheepishly.

“I actually appreciate the extra boost,” Sarah chuckled and let out a deep sigh. “And I’d say it’s working because I feel like tonight is going to be a blast!” She then downed the rest of her drink and glimpsed at the mirror. “Maybe I should chill for a sec because I need to get this makeup done with a steady hand.” Putting her cup down, she used her liner to draw an intricate eye design which spread out to her temples like wings.

Another round of Sangria had the three of us feeling like the goddesses we were. We embodied Fire’s heat, invoking its power through a simple spell Bridget created and the ashes from the fireplace. We each smoothed the charcoal over a lock of our hair while thoughtfully setting fiery intentions. No chanting necessary.

“Nothing is hotter than Fire,” I teased with a wink. Sarah wrinkled her nose with silent laughter. Bridget turned up the music as she finally allowed herself to relax. Each of us struggled to focus as we sat in a circle to implement the Veil of Ravishment spell, a bit wobbly from the drinks.

“Ok,” Sarah said, taking a deep breath to stop herself from the giggles. “C’mon, we need to get it together.” She placed a bottle with a dropper, an herbal cleansing stick, what looked like three friendship bracelets, and finally, an unlit white candle in the center before us.

“May I?” I glanced between the two of them. Sarah nodded at me. I bit my bottom lip and stared at the flameless wick. As I exhaled a thin breath toward the candle, it instantly lit up, as if kissed by a match. “I will never get over how cool this is,” I said, smiling widely.

“This was such a good idea, Sarah,” Bridget said. “We’ve really been taking things too seriously since we’ve awakened our Aecor.”

“Let’s see what we’re really capable of,” I whispered as if telling a secret.

“The bracelets will be our amulets for this extra bit of magic we’re calling forth tonight. Those are gemstone beads; ruby for power, beryl for love, quartz for energy, and bloodstone for strength, well, confidence in our case.” Sarah pointed to the pattern of the bracelets. “We will dab our wrists and throats with this perfume, which has rose and cinnamon. After, we will let the smoke of this bundle of basil, lavender, and jasmine surround us. But first we need to repeat the incantation three times.” She reached for us, grasping one of our hands in her own. Bridget and I then closed our circle; she playfully tickled my palm before entwining her fingers with mine.

Thrice, we repeated:

“Alight internal fires

Bring forth the call

Make them bend

Make them fall

Shroud their Will

Foresight and all

Sense and desire,

Entice, enthrall”

Warmth flowed through our touching hands, tingling just the slightest at first and building into static intensity with each repetition. As the three of us chanted the final word from our lips, there was a moment of stillness. Suddenly, Aecor surged, pushing through our bodies, and its presence enveloped our circle. Fluttering our eyes open, we continued with the acts of the spell. The touches of perfume and the tendrils of smoke cradled us as we slid the gemstone friendship bracelets onto our wrists.

“These are so cute,” I said, gesturing to the jewelry. Bridget turned and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and I eyed her with a playful, yet judging grimace.

“Let’s get fucked up,” Sarah howled like a frat boy, and we nearly fell over from our laughter. I wasn’t even completely depleted of inhibition and knew better than to mix my drinks tonight. However, one shot of whiskey wouldn’t hurt…that badly. The three of us dropped our heads back and took the shots at the same time.

“Now, let’s go. I feel like I’m everything at once, like I can fly,” said Bridget, standing up and grabbing her bag.

Sarah ran to the mirror. “Look at my eyes,” she exclaimed. The dark brown irises shone like black diamonds, accentuated by the lined design of her makeup. “Guys, I feel… really good. It’s like the Circle Binding all over again.”

“Let’s go, before the spell wears off,” Bridget threw a look at Sarah’s reflection.

“It probably won’t wear off until tomorrow. So, enjoy the ride,” I laughed.

We stood in front of the full-length mirror, like three witchy goddesses; Sarah, in her smokey silver corset, Bridget in a sage green one, and me in a burnt-orange brocade top. Our skirts were layered like the Sanderson Sisters. In our reflection, our hair shined under the warm lighting and our makeup was flawless. Almost glowing from our inner strength, we looked like Aecor incarnate. Witches of Water, Earth, and Fire. Our Aecor was almost tangible, falling from us in waves, invisible but cascading on the floor around us.

“This is going to be so much fun,” I said, and the three of us giggled, drunk on power.

Founder’s Village was a small section of the island, although the buildings were spread out over gently rolling hills. To be safe, we walked rather than drove the short distance to the old Town Hall. Bass-heavy music greeted us as we navigated through the busy parking lot. Our strides aligned as we walked up to the front steps, and it felt like every head turned, with mouths agape, while we walked into the building. The attention was even more intoxicating than the alcohol and magic in our systems.

As we made our way through the bustling foyer, crowds parted to let us pass into the main room of the Hall. We headed straight for the pop-up bar, ordered our drinks, and then chose a high-top table by the edge of the dance floor. Although it was too loud to converse, we soaked in the room’s hyper charged energy, feeling more upbeat by the moment. I was pleasantly surprised and did a happy dance when I saw servers come around with amuse-bouches, many of which came to our table first even though the kitchen was located at the far end of the Hall. To our pleasure, the bartender also sent us another round of drinks just as our first ones were running low.

Before finishing our second drink, people approached the table where we sat, donning all sorts of costumes from comical depictions of politicians to sexy slasher film killers. They all looked starstruck. The attention I had grown used to receiving as a new resident in a small town was one thing, but the constant fawning over Bridget, Sarah, and I from all the people surrounding us was on an entirely new level. It felt awesome— our Aecor was more real than ever.

“It’s working,” Sarah yelped over the blaring music. As if cued to do so, a man, who looked our age, walked up to Sarah and boldly tugged her by her skirts, pulling her out onto the dance floor. Her smile spread across her entire face, and she daintily waved at us as she allowed herself to be swept away. Bridget rounded the table to sit closer to me.

“Ethan Birche,” she yelled in my ear. “We went to school with him.” Bridget quickly glanced around and leaned in even closer. “His family is like ours.” I widened my eyes in response and quickly glanced around the room to have a better look at Ethan. But I spotted a different guy, instead.

“Chris is here,” I barely made out her words as she jutted her chin toward the front entrance. He was incredibly well-groomed, with his stubble shaved with a clean edge, and he was wearing a designer dress shirt tucked into an expensive leather belt…also designer. I couldn’t help myself comparing him to Jeff. Chris was such a contrast to my blue-collar brother, who clearly hadn’t taken the hint I gave him earlier, as he was still absent. Crimson lights flowed through the room, moving in time with the rhythm of the music. Chris noticed Bridget, and walked over, shrugging through the dense crowd while plastering a brilliantly white-toothed smile on his face.

“Hey there, beautiful.” He shouted over the intensifying party.

“Hi,” Bridget mouthed, coldly. “And bye.” She shooed him away with her hand. Chris scrunched up his face as if he were in pain and dramatically clutched his hand to his chest, playfully exaggerating her dismissal.

“Ouch,” I laughed as Chris took the message and walked away toward the bar. Bridget rolled her eyes.

“Looks like it’s your turn.” Bridget pointed with the hand she braced her chin on, towards a figure standing by another table a couple feet away. The space between us was packed with costumed dancers.

A man in a cloak, his face hidden beneath the shadows of his hood, was facing us. His presence felt mysterious… exciting . I shifted on my stool to get a better look, but a group of girls toppled, slamming into me, Bridget, and the man, spilling drinks everywhere. In the chaos of jumping out of the way, I lost track of the cloaked man, and after scanning the dense crowd, I realized he was gone.

“I spoke too soon,” Bridget laughed. “Let’s go on a man- hunt,” she smirked, and we headed out onto the open floor where Sarah and Ethan were dancing so closely you couldn’t tell where either person began or ended.

As we joined them, the music’s beat dropped, and the lights flitted around the room. Our bodies reacted to the intoxicating atmosphere, dipping and turning with each hit of the song. Black and orange streamers exploded from the lighting rig above our heads, the festive tinsel billowing in the air. The DJ got really creative and started to live-mix mashups between Halloween hits and R my belly flattened against the floor. The staggering weight made it excruciating for me as I reached back and felt it laying across me. The fact I could even feel at all shocked me. The tingling sensation continued to flare through my bones, protesting against the damage caused by the rafter.

Blood . It dawned on me what that stickiness was, and the effect it had on me. Static electricity pulsed through me, combining with my own Aecor. Blood Magic . My stomach churned at the thought as I coughed against the hot smoke and ash filling the room.

All the screaming stopped, but a roaring built in my ears. Flames. Every nerve ending was hyper-aware of the current danger as the fire spread through the hall. I couldn’t take a breath deep enough to yell for help. My skin tore, and muscles ached as I tried to thrash and twist myself free from under the wooden beam. But I could barely move as I lost all energy. Giving up the fight, I gasped, breath after thin breath, like a rabid animal trapped just before their imminent death.

Tiny lights pricked my vision as I felt the coolness of the floor against my cheek. Through the smoke, I could see flashes of the dancing flames, knowing what it meant. Hoping I would lose consciousness before my flesh would be consumed by the fire’s scorching flames, I closed my eyes and welcomed the mouthfuls of smoke that singed my throat.

In my head, amongst the roaring flames, cracking wood, and thundering of falling debris, I heard my heartbeat. It was slower than I thought it would be in a situation like this, but I found myself longing for peace, for quiet.