NADINE

T he coven marched to the edge of the forest near the school. Our cats scurried in front of us protectively, the hairs on their necks rising as they hissed angrily. The demon had trampled trees flat, and the road leading up to the school had been upheaved by the quaking of the earth. The area surrounding the school appeared completely unrecognizable in the wake of his destruction.

The Scelus demon loomed over the turrets of Miriam Mansion. He swung a heavy arm out and crushed the tallest turret in the palm of his hand. Nicole’s wicked laughter rang over us as she stared proudly down at the wreckage. She blasted a spell through the windows of the highest level, shattering them to bits in an instant. From here, I could see the satisfied smirk on her face as he reduced her sister’s beloved school to rubble.

It was absolutely devastating to witness. The school had been undergoing renovations after the last attack upon it, and now the classrooms we cherished were being turned to dust.

“Hey, Skeleton Face!” someone shouted to get the demon’s attention. “Leave our school alone!”

A powerful battle orb went flying through the air and hit the demon in the side of the head. The demon stumbled to the side, but he shook his head like the spell was nothing but a nuisance. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Gregory had followed us to the school.

He beamed as he stared down at his hands. “ Wahoo ! It feels good to have our power back!”

I shot a glance behind myself to see the forest was filled with at least a thousand coven members. I recognized so many faces, many of whom had fought alongside us before. Our friends who had fled town long ago were back to help—Monica, Tate, Onyx, and Mandy. Beside them, people from school looked poised and ready to defend their home. Professor Richards led a group of students, and I noticed Darcy, Samantha, Brayden, and Alex among them. Professor Warren planted himself in front of Verla. Even after all she’d done, he still wanted to protect her from her sister.

Nearby, Dr. Yonker, Dr. Tracey, and Dr. Mack were all here, though I wasn’t shocked that they’d come. What truly surprised me was to see a group of people who had opposed us in the past. Among them, Gwen, Camille, Meredith, and Judge Calloway were standing at our sides.

Every doubt I’d ever had about our coven surviving this conflict melted away at that moment, because I knew that when witches worked together, we were unstoppable. The Miriamic Coven had faced magical enemies, witch trials, and demons before, and each time—no matter how battered and bruised we became—we rose to victory. I always knew the coven could outlive any outside threat, but I hadn’t been so sure we could survive when we’d become our own worst enemy. But now we stood together, and that was something we’d never done since this conflict began. This demon may have otherworldly power, but he had no idea what he was up against.

The demon’s red eyes blazed with rage. Drawing his arm back, he aimed the debris clutched in his fist at us. He hurled it in our direction, but the bits of rubble transformed mid-air to become hellish weapons. Bricks and shingles turned black, elongating into sharp spikes that looked like shards of obsidian.

I didn’t even flinch. My friends and I lifted the Oaken Wands in unison, and an impenetrable shield encompassed our people before the spears could impale us.

Judge Calloway caught my eye. “Give them hell, priestess.”

Power swelled through me, and I could tell the rest of them felt it, too. I nodded to my friends, and we began moving as a unit. “Let’s show this demon what the Miriamic Coven can do!”

Talia raised the Seer Wand first. Tate took her sister’s hand, and several other Seers stepped forward. Miles, Alex, Brayden, and Dr. Mack all joined hands as they worked together to focus their power through the Seer Wand and toward the Scelus demon. Hundreds of other Seers backed them up, freely lending their power to the spell.

A chilling note rang through the air, and ghosts of those who haunted the school flew out of the broken windows and spiraled into the air. A dozen ethereal beings circled the demon, and his blood-red flesh began to turn an icy blue as the ghosts preyed on his energy.

The demon swatted the ghosts away, and because he was a transdimensional being himself, his hands met solid forms. The ghosts gave pained wails as they were thrust aside.

The demon merely laughed, his guttural tone resounding through the sky like thunder. He seemed amused at our attempt to stop him. He stomped a heavy foot, and the earth gave a violent shudder. An entire wing of Miriam Mansion collapsed in an instant. The lawn spanning before us crumbled, falling away into a dark abyss like puzzle pieces breaking off one after the other. The chasm spread within moments, intent on swallowing us all whole at once.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Chloe sneered.

She lifted the Mentalist Wand, and hundreds of members of her Cast stepped forward. Mandy, Camille, Monica, Meredith, and Judge Calloway all raised their hands to aim their power together as one.

As the army of Mentalists came together, Meredith took Monica’s hand in hers. It was profound to witness, because Meredith had been cruel to her sister in the past. But now, after what we all watched in the town square, Meredith appeared ready to turn over a new leaf. She came together with the sister she once rejected, and together, they joined with the other Mentalists to cast a powerful spell.

The collapsing bits of earth paused mid-air at the Mentalists’ command. Rocks and clods of dirt rose upward, and the Mentalists shot them straight at the demon like massive bullets. They moved so quickly that the projectiles blasted straight through the demon’s abdomen and out the other side.

The demon screamed and stumbled backward, but he wasted no time casting another spell. As he lifted his hands, he overpowered the Mentalists and sent their weapons spinning back toward them. Except they weren’t mere rocks and clods of dirt anymore. The demon had transformed them into sizzling black globs of poison that glowed green around the edges.

“We need alchemy!” I ordered.

Grant moved quickly, and a crowd of Alchemists gathered behind him. Verla, Onyx, and Professor Richards flanked him on one side, while Darcy, Dr. Yonker, and Gwen gathered on the other. Together, they thrust out a spell that alchemized the poison into harmless clouds of smoke that drifted away in the wind.

The Alchemists turned their powers back on the demon, and his flesh began to sizzle as they transformed his blood to acid. The demon stumbled backward, crushing trees under his feet as he let out a pained cry.

“Let’s finish him!” Professor Warren yelled.

A horde of Mortana stepped forward as Lucas raised his Wand. Samantha, Gregory, and Dr. Tracey joined my husband and professor. A powerful death spell blasted out the end of the Mortana Wand, landing square in the center of the demon’s chest.

“No!” Nicole shouted. She swayed on the demon’s shoulder, struggling to maintain her footing.

The demon turned his head toward the sky and screamed, but the spell Lucas had cast seemed to shudder against him.

“He’s resisting us!” Lucas shouted. “He’s not fully alive, so the death spell isn’t taking!”

I grabbed Lucas’s free hand in mine. “We do this together. All Casts, all at once!”

He nodded firmly. “This coven is ours, and no demon can take it!”

Together, every coven member stepped forward to face the demon. We lifted the Oaken Wands, and the magic of our people blasted out of the ends of them. I could feel the full power of the coven coming together as one as the Oaken Wands took on a united front. Magic of all colors lit up the night sky so brightly it illuminated the whole town as if it were daytime. The Curse Breaker Wand shook in my hand as it funneled the tremendous power of thousands of witches into one spell.

Our magic slammed into the demon in a singular violent blast. He groaned in agony as the power surged through its body, causing his veins to turn from a deep bloody red to a bright white.

“We need to give it everything we’ve got!” I shouted. “Use your wands, your Cast stars, anything to focus your power. We can do this together!”

“ United as one at the end of this war, you will leave Octavia Falls and hurt us no more, ” Lucas shouted. “ By the Goddess and all her loving, we banish you and restore our coven! ”

We all joined in on the incantation as Lucas repeated it over again. Our magic swelled to epic proportions, until mighty currents of power assaulted the demon from all angles.

A high-pitched, hellish roar shook the skies as the demon failed to resist us any longer. The spell turned his own magic against him, and fiery streams of lava crackled across his skin.

“ No, this isn’t possible !” the demon bellowed. “ No force can defeat me ?—”

A magical blast detonated, and trees toppled over. Coven members huddled together to avoid being thrown off our feet, and our cats dug their claws into the dirt.

The demon erupted into thousands of ashy pieces that blazed through the sky like a massive firework. His screams died as he was reduced to bits. In the distance, Nicole’s cries echoed through the forest.

Ashes rained down all around us, and the magic lighting up the sky dimmed to reveal the stars once more. The forest had been demolished, with only the strongest trees still standing. One wing of the mansion still stood, but the rest of our beloved school was scattered over the lawn.

For a moment, all was silent. Then, cheers of victory erupted through the night. Coven members cried out in relief now that the demon was gone.

“We did it!” Gregory cried. “We showed that demon who’s boss.”

My eyes were still locked in the distance. As the fiery ashes of the demon rained down on us, I witnessed an orange glow ignite deep within the trees. A shadowed figure crossed in front of the fire.

“This isn’t over yet,” I said.

The crowd began to quiet as all eyes turned on me.

I pointed toward the shadow I’d seen. The glowing orange blaze was only getting brighter. “Nicole’s still out there. We’ve reclaimed our power, but she still has magic of her own. Whether she has a demon on her side or not, she’s going to do everything she can to end this.”

“Headmistress Verla won’t let that happen, will you, Clarice?” Lucas asked.

Verla had been standing here moments ago, but when we looked around, she was gone. I spotted movement through the darkness.

“She’s going after her sister,” I said. “Come on. We have to stop Nicole before she tears our realm apart completely.”

We took off running in the direction of the fire. Coven members followed, and Isa raced beside me.

“Nicole, you have to stop this!” I heard Verla shout in the distance.

“You tried to stop me then, but I won’t let you stop me now!” Nicole spat.

Flames roared, reaching high above the remaining treetops. Through the forest, it appeared like a bonfire had ignited. The trees gave way to a wide clearing, and I realized the fire was eating away at a large, gnarly oak tree.

The Protection Tree .

All around the clearing, the demon’s ashes lay sprawled, sizzling like papers burning around the edges. The ashes had fallen upon the dry, broken crack sliced through the center of the Protection Tree and had lit our sacred oak ablaze.

We could feel the heat from the flames rolling over the forest in waves. This wasn’t any ordinary fire. It’d been ignited by the ashes of a demon and burned a deep, evil red that wasn’t of this world.

Nicole shoved Verla toward the burning tree with murderous intent in her eyes. Verla stumbled to the side, narrowly missing being burned by a flaming whirlwind that swirled around the tree.

“Verla!” I shouted.

I ran forward, but Nicole thrust her palm outward, and I slammed straight into a solid shield. Thousands of coven members circled the clearing at all angles, but no one could break through Nicole’s shield.

“Nicole, please!” Verla begged. “I just brought you back. Please don’t make me force you to stop.”

“You’re still not listening! You can’t stop me anymore, Clarice. This is the way it was always going to end for you.” Nicole shoved her sister back again, using a powerful spell to knock her off her feet and across the clearing.

Verla used her own magic to soften the blow, and sparks flashed as she made impact with the ground. Dirt covered her face, and blood trickled down her cheek as she pushed herself upright. She winced as she rolled her shoulder back. Verla’s brows pinched together as she eyed her sister up and down, appearing stunned that Nicole would hurt her.

Then something shifted. Verla looked from the Protection Tree, then back to her sister. Her features fell, like something profound had just dawned on her. Verla understood her sister far better than anyone, and it was clear she realized something now that the rest of us hadn’t.

“I hear you, Nicole,” Verla said gently. “And for the first time, I understand why you did all this.”

“What are you doing!?” Meredith shouted at me. “Finish her with the Oaken Wands.”

Verla’s gaze snapped in my direction. “Nadine, no! I have to be the one to finish this!”

I had no reason to trust Verla after everything she’d done, but I chose to give her a chance back in the town square, and I had to let her take it now. I kept my Wand down at my side.

Meredith whirled toward Judge Calloway. “Silence them, Judge. We need to get rid of her.”

Judge Calloway shook her head as she peered upon the scene curiously. “No. We don’t have to silence people, only hold them accountable. Let Clarice say what she wants to say.”

All eyes turned upon the sisters standing in the clearing amidst the backdrop of a blazing inferno.

Verla pushed herself to her feet to face her sister. “I’m listening, Nicole. When you tried to chop the Protection Tree down the night of your death, you called it a murder tree. Everyone thought you were out of your mind. But then you said something in the square, and it all makes sense now. You said you were trying to save me.”

“I was ,” Nicole admitted. “But you acted like you didn’t want to be saved.”

“I can’t be saved anymore,” Verla said softly.

I realized then what Verla already understood. The fire Nicole had seen in her vision was this one consuming the Protection Tree right now. Nicole had tried to stop any of this from ever coming true by intending to chop the tree down, but as her own warning foretold, her death would mark the beginning of the end. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“The night you died, you said you saw a fire and noose in your vision,” Verla reminded her. “I assumed you meant the return of the witch trials, and I thought I understood that all this time. But you weren’t talking about the coven. You were talking about us . The noose was your fate, but the fire you foresaw was my death. This isn’t about these people. It’s about me.”

Nicole’s hands shook as she slowly dropped them to her sides. “I saw that the Protection Tree would be the end of you. I was trying to stop this moment from ever happening, but then you went against me and wouldn’t let me save you. You let them kill me, so I came back to finish this and end you like they ended me.”

Verla lifted her chin confidently. “Then you have this moment you so desire, because like you said, I can’t stop it anymore. It was always meant to end here.”

“What do they mean, this moment ?” Professor Warren asked from beside us. He didn’t want to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.

I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. “Headmistress Verla is going to embrace the witch’s fate and complete the prophecy once and for all.”

I could see it in Verla’s eyes. Her mind was already made up.