A Demon’s Book Of Shadows (Witches & Demons #1)

37. Lucy

37

Lucy

The greenhouse groaned as magic from both of my sisters and my mother spiraled out of control. I was the only witch who had yet to join in with an attempt on trying to tame the tree of shadows. Branches twisted and bark splintered as it continued to unfold out of the earth.

“ Lucy, listen to me. The tree of shadows has earth magic that your bookworm has been feasting on ,” Amon’s voice filled my head.

“ Where are you ?”

“ Don’t worry, I’ll find my way out. Focus on finding your familiar .”

I searched the room. The boy that had been holding onto Grubs has vanished. But the tree, an ebony mass of spiraling bark that looked like something out of Jack And The Beanstalk , had quadrupled in size. Hundreds of little bookworms glistened up in the branches. Their wriggling bodies illuminated the ebony bark, making it shimmer with colorful iridescence.

A vine whipped across my ankles, knocking me off my feet.

“Lucy, look out!” my mother cried, her yellow bands of protective magic reaching for me .

A branch snapped, falling inches from where I was, all of which flailed violently in the magical vortex.

Melrose tossed her hands into the air, sending splinters and thorns flying. The light from the glowing worms illuminated her face as her gaze dropped to me. Her mouth twisted as her pupils dilated.

“Jeremy!” she cried.

The boy who had Grubs in his hands appeared by the tree’s roots. I knew this spirit. He was the same child I had tutored.

“Jeremy? That’s your name?” I asked.

He turned to me, ignoring Melrose. He reached his hand down and helped me to stand.

“Don’t touch him!” Melrose cried, vines exploding out of the earth toward me. She crouched, extending both of her hands. “It’s me, it’s your sister.”

Jeremy didn’t respond. He was too interested in what the bookworms were leaving behind. Cocoons, dozens of them, rained down from the tree.

I thought back to the tree in my vision, where I’d been in the water. I’d seen someone fall out of the branches—a small boy. But prior to that, I’d seen a hand reach out of the water.

It all made sense now.

I climbed to my feet, a newfound energy surging through me. The energy pulsed, a lifeblood of water that was curious about the witch who had discovered the truth behind the death of another witch.

Amon’s words poured through me. “ We can hide truths from ourselves, even in death. The grimoires have magic that helps to decipher truth often lost by spirits . ”

I approached Melrose, brushing her vines away. “All this time, the Bone Threader has kept you in the dark about what happened to you by that tree.” Lightning flashed in my mind’s eye as the ground flooded. “You can’t remember how you died, because it happened very quickly.”

Melrose rounded on me, anger burning in her eyes. “Do you think I am stupid?”

“Think about it. You haunted Amon for years after you couldn’t find your brother. Why couldn’t you find him? Because you were lost. You were already dead by the time you began searching for him.”

Melrose scoffed, tossing her hands into the air. “I died before him? That’s insane! You are lying!”

“Shadow magic doesn’t lie. It reveals the pieces of ourselves we ignore. Remember the rain—the thunderstorms? You died in a flash flood the day you went searching for him.”

“No, I don’t believe this. Amon had been there. He saw everything!”

“You are right, part of him had been there, but it’s not who you remember. Amon has been missing one of his shadows ever since you died.”

“No, that’s not true! Amon did this, he. . .”

“Sister, stop fighting,” Jeremy said, holding out his hand. “All I wanted to do was climb that tree, because I had found a friend.”

“Jeremy, is this true?” Melrose asked, falling to her knees. “Who were you following? Who was this friend?”

Jeremy smiled. “A boy my age who called himself Amon. ”

A great weight lifted from me as Jeremy grabbed his sister’s hand and tugged her to her feet. He walked with her toward the hollow of the tree. With the two restless spirits now reunited, maybe at long last, we could all find some peace.

Water poured out of the roots, making the tree sway violently.

“My greenhouse!” Grace cried as the tree collapsed, blowing the structure into smithereens.