Page 54 of The Redd Key (Bone Coven #1)

B lood pounded in my ears. Clutching the drawing in my hands, swirling grey eyes and a straight brow stared back at me. Inside of my chest, my heart failed a beat as all air escaped my lungs. What I was looking at was impossible. My mind reeled as my subconscious desperately attempted to create connections between the journal entries, this drawing, and every single second I had ever spent in Cole’s presence. I hid the slip of paper between the pages of the scroll and enclosed it once more.

“Are you ok? Was that your head?” Sarah asked. I nodded, still not breathing.

“I’m good, it sounded worse than it felt.”

“You sure, because you don’t look so good, like you saw a ghost.” Bridget slowly handed me a cup of tea.

“No, I’m fine, really, thanks.” I sipped the tea. “I need to get something from the apartment. Can we meet on the bluffs where Lydia showed us? I really don’t think we should waste anymore time.” I needed to go get the locket, to hide it there, remembering what Griffin said about wanting to use it. Bridget and Sarah looked bewildered at the request.

“Well, I’m glad I made the warming potion, that tea will be helpful tonight.” Bridget started to straighten up the table.

“You already have some made? I seriously never understood how you’re always one step ahead.” Sarah unconsciously rubbed her tattooed arm.

Stopping at the front door, I turned to them both, “I will see you in a little while, please be safe.” I drove in silence back to my apartment, half tempted to head to the North Shore to confront Cole, but I kept replaying how insane it would be for me to accuse him of being the actual pirate who supposedly died over three hundred years ago. Honestly, though, the way the man spoke about being fated, he’d probably be into role-playing that tragic couple.

No cars drove along my street as I pulled into the driveway. I climbed the stairs two at a time, and unlocked and opened the door to my home in a single movement. Ferran appeared and followed me inside. The light flicked on as I flipped the switch of the lamp, and I crossed the room, not even taking the time to remove my shoes. Rounding the bed, I glanced out the window to see nothing but street lights before dropping to the floor to peer under the bed frame. I blindly felt around for the locked trunk, but couldn’t reach it. Light blared from my phone and I used it to illuminate the shadows. The floor beneath my bed was empty. The chest wasn’t there.

“Where the hell did I put it?” I looked around the tiny space that was my garage apartment, and a pit formed in my stomach. I fished the key out from the vent by the door, but the trunk itself wasn’t in my apartment at all. I scanned the room more carefully to see if anything else was out of place. I locked eyes onto Ferran who was puffed up, hair standing on end. He jumped onto the comforter and stalked toward my nightstand.

On the bedside table there was a note written on parchment and in the same deep violet ink as the symbol. Looking at the ink made my tattooed arm itch. A feather quill laid beside the paper.

You stand accused of witchcraft, a grave offense in the eyes of our laws. If found guilty, the penalty is hanging.

Yet, there is a fleeting chance for redemption amidst your impending judgment. As decreed by the Acts of Grace, you have three trials to contest the accusations. Success means freedom; failure means the gallows.

Furthermore, legend whispers tales of Bellamy’s existence, and we believe him to walk under the guise of a humble merchant, Cole Harlin, who, as is spoken, succumbs to mystical demise each dawn, his life unnaturally prolonged by the residual power he possesses.

We implore you to note, the Brethren have taken possession of a locket which is imbued with potent magical properties. It is our duty to safeguard such an artifact.

Prepare for the trials ahead. The Brethren of Cunning watch, bound by the laws we uphold.

My hands shook as my head began to spin. Deep in my bones, coldness swept over me, stealing the breath from my lungs. Thoughts swirled like the churning tides, jumping from the charcoal drawing that looked exactly like Cole, to Griffin declaring his villain origin story before trying to drain me of my blood, and now this? I could have screamed. I could have burned down the world with the chaos that blazed in me, threatening to erupt. Instead, I got back into my car, note and rusted key in hand, and drove to the Eastern cliffs.

The night was cold but clear, and the wind finally died.

“How do you think we even get down there?” Sarah asked as I walked up to her and Bridget. She pulled a scarf tighter around her.

“What’s that?” Bridget stepped forward to take the note from my hands. Her eyes skimmed the page quickly, and passed it to Sarah. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” The sound she made had me staring at her, waiting for her to erupt, too. A growl ripped through her throat as she actually stomped her foot in frustration.

“I’m done, just done with this whole mystery thing. We’re not the Scooby Doo gang,” Sarah whined. “Why can’t we just be magical fairies that sometimes dance around a bonfire under the moonlight to bring in a better harvest for winter?” She paced, whimpering.

“It’s either play their game or die,” Bridget said, straight to the point.

“Do we even need to go find the cave still?” Sarah wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “I sort of rather be anywhere but here.”

“I feel like we need to. It feels important. I can’t explain it, but I feel it.” Warmth flooded between my ribcage, urging me on. I stopped at the edge of the cliff and looked down, trying to not envision Lydia’s mangled body on the obsidian that jutted upward from below. “It’s low tide. Dead low. We have time.” I scanned the edge of the bluff and noticed where the sea carved out a natural staircase. “This way.” The two of them followed as I scaled the slippery rockface.

Steep steps led us hundreds of feet downward to where the ocean cut into the bluffs, creating an entrance to a tunnel. Without speaking, we stepped inside, one by one, until we were deep enough where the crescent moonlight could no longer touch us. Bridget held up a flashlight and Sarah used her phone. Narrow, and so long that it disappeared into darkness, the path laid out before us steeped upward into the belly of the rock. Turning and sweeping, the path seemed to circle back on itself a few times.

“We’ve been here before.” Sarah’s voice was pitched high with slight panic. “I swear I’ve seen that wonky part three times already.”

“You’re right, we’ve definitely walked this way already.” Bridget placed a hand on the damp stone wall.

Taking a breath of the thick salty air, I shut my eyes, allowing the stale air to fill my lungs. I took breath after breath, and felt Bridget and Sarah join me, inhaling in sync. Aecor surged between the three of us, and when our eyes blinked open, bioluminescent algae sparkled against the obsidian walls. The sight of it all sent a wave of chills through me as the stone cave transformed into an ethereal space.

“It’s like a dream,” Sarah gasped. Her eyes were wide as the green and teal aura shined in them. It looked like starlight in her eyes, as if we were blanketed by the milky way. Bridget’s nose was an inch from the wall of rock, covered in a cloud of the algae.

“I will never get used to this,” she said slowly, heavy with awe. “I mean, I know we didn’t conjure this completely by ourselves, but we asked and Aecor answered, and I won’t ever take that for granted.” She straightened herself and continued the way up through the tunnel.

Lining the walls, the shimmering radiance guided us through the path that felt the most compelling. In my chest, I felt the strength of the Aecor emitting from everything around us and I gave myself over to its power. I knew we were headed in the right direction, to where my mother and Lydia made their blood pact. Though, I wasn’t entirely sure of what we’d find there or if I would be ready when we uncovered it.

Bend after bend, we wound through the cave system until the air stilled and the glittering lights gleamed brighter than ever. Before us was a natural archway that almost seemed to be manmade. The stone was smooth, and carved into its face were symbols resembling the stone giants in the cove. Spirals and other geometric characters were embedded on the surface. Beyond the arch was infinite darkness. I held a hand up, pushing past the entry, and blackness enveloped me to my wrist at the line of the threshold. It felt like nothing.

“We have to push through,” I said, but instead of my voice echoing off the hard, reflective surfaces as it should have, the sound died into the void ahead of us. It was foreboding, and every part of my body wanted to turn around and leave this place. Sarah groaned as if reading my thoughts. Bridget exhaled quickly a few times as if hyping herself up.

“Let’s go.” She took a last deep breath and disappeared into the complete emptiness beyond.

“Bridget!” Sarah called after her, but her voice hit the wall and died. She grabbed my hand, giving me a look of reluctance and we both walked through the archway together.

I nearly choked from the sudden cascade of emotions – from fear to laughter at the unbelievable sight. Teal bundles of algae clung to the walls and ceiling of a carved out space in the obsidian. It looked like a teen girl’s treehouse. Pictures haphazardly hung on the walls, pillows and mismatched chairs strewn across the bedrock floor. In the corner was a boulder with a flattened top used as some sort of table. This was Bronwyn and Lydia’s chill spot, where my mother hung out, and I couldn’t control the fit of giggles that spilled out of me.

“Wow!” Sarah spun around. “This place is so cool.”

“Maybe this was like their cove. Maybe it chose to reveal its sanctuary to them, protected just like how the cove is for us,” Bridget said, walking to the boulder.

Around the room I could feel the lingering excitement. It was as if a snapshot of the past was forever on display here. I could almost see the two of them sitting in this cavern reciting incantations, working on spells, learning from their Book of Shadows – discovering their ancestors, learning about the legacy, and finding out who they truly were. At some point I must have progressed from giggles to sobs, because Bridget and Sarah were on me, holding me, wiping away tears.

“Oh, Raina.” Sarah was bleary eyed, crying with me.

Bridget held me against her shoulder, calmly stroking my hair.

“This is the closest I’ve felt to her,” I sniffed, “since she died.” I took a step back from my sisters, and my foot hit something. I reached down and picked up a hand carved wooden chalice. In the corner by the boulder a shimmering pile caught my eye. Rust colored dust. And on the wall was a darker area, drawn purposely in a way that mimicked the archway markings.

“It happened here.” I gestured and Bridget and Sarah walked over. The three of us put our palms against the pact and my heart clenched. The act felt like a handshake.

“Acknowledgement?” Bridget tilted her head.

“You felt that too?” Sarah asked. I nodded.

“It recognizes what we are. I believe that’s why we were welcomed into this space. Raina, you have her blood in you, and this is a sacred place. It knows you, and sees us.” Bridget’s wisdom bloomed as she explored the details of the cavern.

Deep within the walls a low thrumming began to beat, like the heart of a giant. Low and soft. The sound reverberated through our bodies. It pulsated slowly, creating almost tangible ripples in the Aecor that surrounded us. There was no way to tell how far it reached outward, but we were at the epicenter.

“Oh, please tell me this isn’t a bad thing, that this is just some really magical welcoming ritual or something,” Sarah whimpered.

“I don’t think so.” Bridget squinted her eyes at the shapes on the wall, held up the chalice, and sniffed it. I bent low to examine the rust colored powder. Bridget’s eyes followed me and she examined the chalice more closely. “There’s some residue in here.” She placed her hand against the stone wall once more and closed her eyes. “The obsidian holds memory.” Her brow furrowed and her nostrils flared while her eyes were still tightly shut. “We tripped the alarm,” and she snapped her gaze to me.

Sarah looked around frantically, “What does that even mean? What happens now? Does a giant boulder come rolling through here?”

“This isn’t Indiana Jones.” I tried not to laugh. For all I knew, she could be right. Before I could state my suspicions, a sound made the three of us turn back toward the archway.

Footsteps came from beyond the shadows. Heavy, slow, and deliberate. The three of us rubbed our tattooed arms in unison.

Head bent low, Cole stepped through the veiled shadows of the archway and into the middle of where we stood. His eyes, as he slowly lifted them, glowed aquamarine with the bioluminescence reflected in their grey irises. The color deepened in time with the pulsating heartbeat of the island. The effect was harrowing. Even worse was that with his hair pulled back, it was as if I was looking at the charcoal drawing of Sam Bellamy. The resemblance was uncanny. The look on Cole’s face was knowing.

“What are you doing here?” Bridget demanded from behind me. Sarah shifted so she was farther from the archway. I stood, staring at Cole. My brain screamed at me, not making sense of the drawing and what the Brethren of Cunning had written. From the connection I held with both women, I knew they were trying to work out the same mindfuck that I was.

“She called to me.” Cole didn’t remove his stare from me. He took a step closer and Aecor surged between us.

“I did not.” I took a step forward to challenge him. The pulsating that came from inside the obsidian built in its strength. I felt it funnel through me.

“You are in danger, Raina.” His eyes darkened.

“Is that a threat, Cole?” I tilted my chin up. Bridget and Sarah exchanged a look.

“Just a fact. They are coming.” His voice was harsh, void of any warmth he had shown me at the cove.

“They already found us,” I lifted my left arm. His eyes shot to the violet lines. In one movement he enclosed the space between us and grabbed my wrist. The touch sent a jolt through my arm.

“You cannot stay here, the three of you, you have to come with me.” Cole shot Bridget and Sarah a look. “If they find you down here they will not hesitate to kill you.” I folded my arms over my chest.

“I’m done with you telling me what I need to do. I have my mother’s protection here. And Lydia’s.”

“You killed Lydia,” he growled, and it felt like a white hot knife sliced through my chest. “Now, you will come with me,” he said without any sense of compassion as he pulled out the obsidian dagger that Aggy tried to use on me.

“Jeez, Raina.” Alarmed, Bridget grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me back toward her. We were cornered and Cole held the dagger out in front of him.

Cole released my wrist and grabbed Bridget and Sarah’s instead, grasping both in his enormous palm. He tugged and whirled both girls toward the archway. “Go, now,” he barked at them.

“I will not be leaving Raina to get chopped up into by you, psycho,” Bridget shrieked at him. She went to rush at him, but froze. Cole held a hand up and I felt Aecor bend to his will, holding Bridget in place. Her eyes widened and Sarah’s jaw dropped. Sarah’s gaze shifted back and forth between Cole and Bridget. I stared at the dagger, trying to figure out how to disarm a man more than twice my size. So I talked.

“I know who you are.” I spoke the words as matter-of-factly as I could, but there was no way to hide the tremble in my voice. Bridget peered at me from around Cole.

“Now is not the time for this, Raina.” He stepped back toward me. I held my ground.

“You’ll have to explain all of that to me, you know, time. How does that all work anyway?” I swallowed a lump in my throat. I needed him to tell me I was crazy. I was desperate for him to deny everything.

“Not now,” he said through clenched teeth.

“What are you talking about?” Sarah’s voice was pitched, and I wondered if she even read the note written by the Brethren of Cunning. She likely stopped reading after the word “gallows”. The pulsating Aecor began to hum, the low frequency resonating in my stomach. The sound made me nauseous. Bridget looked pained as if she was trying to work out the pieces she and Sarah were missing.

“Let them go, this is between us,” I said calmly to Cole.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Bridget snapped. From above us a deafening crack shot through the obsidian.

“Fuck,” Cole said as he rolled his neck. “They are here.” He grabbed me by the waist and dragged me back to the archway. “Grab onto Raina,” Cole demanded Bridget and Sarah.

“Get off of me,” I yelled at him, trying to twist my wrist out of his hand. His fingers dug into my skin so tightly my hand was beginning to go numb. Suddenly the dagger was dragged across the palm of my tattooed hand. Pain seared through me in an instant and I felt the warm flow of blood seep down my arm.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Bridget moved to tackle Cole, or something like that. She could barely move from Cole’s power restraining her. Sarah’s face was plastered with terror. The beating pulse of the island invaded my senses as more stone cracked and threatened to fall all around us.

“Grab onto her. Now!” Cole’s voice was pure venom. Bridget didn’t hesitate this time and I felt the girls’ hands on me. The pain from where Cole cut me burned down my arm, and he lurched the wounded hand toward one of the symbols on the archway. He smeared my hand and blood across the smooth stone, which felt like ice.

As if time moved backward, the air, sounds, lights, all rushed my senses at once until life itself was sucked out of me like a vacuum. The void of the archway enveloped all four of us, and I was gone, existing nowhere.