Divination (Spells and Sins)

Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

"A witch’s greatest ally is not her power, but her patience."

Elysia

“ A t least I think I know where we need to go.” The spine of the book I’d stolen glared at me from the dash. The Legends of Hallow Ridge Grove .

Lunara reread the poem again silently to herself and then glanced at me. “You mentioned the clock tower in that book earlier.”

“I did, but there are other time pieces around town. It could be any number of places.” I grabbed the book and flipped it open. Flipping through the pages, there were a few clock towers mentioned. We had our main one here in downtown Hallow Ridge Grove, but there was an old church built with a clock in it on the edge of town. There was also the old clock store with its eccentric little lighthouse that held a clock face where the beam should be.

All were original to the founding of the town. But were there any others I was missing?

“The poem mentioned tall and proud. Is there another tall building housing a clock that you suspect we’ll find the orb in?” Lunara leaned over to look at the page I was reading.

“There are a few options, actually, and something tells me we shouldn’t be chasing down the obvious choice.” I stare at the photo of the lighthouse with its peculiarly placed clock. “I mean, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t hide some magical orb in the town’s most infamous clock tower.” I ease the book closer to Lunara. “Look at these.” I pointed to the picture of the church, turned the page, and showed her the picture of the weird clock shop.

“You aren’t near any body of water, are you?” She nodded toward the lighthouse attached to the oddly shaped house and chuckled.

I closed the book and rested it between the two seats. “No, we aren’t.”

“So we have those three options?” When I didn’t immediately answer, she asked “Is everything okay?”

Gripping the steering wheel, I white-knuckled it to keep my hands from shaking. What if the dark creature had taken Thalia and any one of us were next?

“You want to go check on Thalia, don’t you?”

I dropped my hands to my lap and squeezed them into fists, then nodded. It was killing me not knowing.

“C’mon. Let’s go.” Lunara reached over and pushed the ignition button on my car and the engine roared to life.

I smirked at her as I put the car in drive. “We could also make a quick visit to the historical society and see what information they might have on our way over.”

Lunara opened her mouth, but hesitated.

“What’s wrong now?”

“I think we should check on your coven first.” She settled in her seat and pulled the seat belt around her, clicking it in place.

“But what about your orb?” I knew how important it was for Lunara and the fae to find the artifact. Who would blame Lunara for putting her needs above my own, especially when it wasn’t just about her? She wanted to save her people from whatever darkness was tainting it. Yet, here she was, putting my worry above her own desire.

While I was blown away by her thoughtfulness, I couldn’t deny that a part of me wondered if finding the orb would also help with whatever had invaded my small little town.

Picking at a hangnail, she said, “I won’t forgive myself if something happens to Thalia and we did nothing to help.” When her fidgeting suddenly stopped, she laid her hands in her lap, then turned to look at me with a near blank expression on her face. “Besides, if all of the fae lands have survived this long, what’s a few more days without the orb?”

I took a disbelieving breath, realizing Lunara had barreled into my life, took me by complete surprise, and weaseled her way into my heart. Knowing all that, I didn’t want to deny her anything. “Lunara?”

“Let’s go look for Thalia.” Lunara returned to picking at her fingers. “I’ll be much more at ease once she’s found. Then we can go about the business of locating the Starfire Orb.”

“Okay.” I secured my own seatbelt and put the car in drive. “If you’re sure.

“I am.” She tilted her head toward the road. “Let’s go find your friend.”

When we pulled up to Thalia’s house, her car sat in the driveway right in front of the garage. I scratched my head, wondering why she hadn’t put it inside like she normally did.

Once I parked the car near the curb, I jumped out and raced to the porch where Morgana was standing. “Did you find her?”

Lunara made her way up the stairs and Morgana eyed her as she answered. “No. She’s still missing.”

“But her car is here.” I waved a hand at the driveway. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Morgana’s hands shook as she straightened her sweater. I’d never seen her so rattled. She usually had the coolest, calmest demeanor, always setting us straight when we needed to take a step back and see the bigger picture; let cooler heads prevail.

“Maybe she went over to Alicia’s house.” Even though humans weren't aware of witches among them, Thalia was fascinated by their company. Alicia was just her latest obsession.

The screen door creaked open and out stepped Nova. “She’s not there, I just called her.”

Fuck . There went that idea.

“Could she have gone for a hike and forgot to tell someone?” I asked.

Nova shoved her hands into her pockets. “Thalia may be stubborn, but she has always told one of us before she went out on a hike alone.” Walking across the porch, Nova locked eyes with Morgana. “She’s not that careless.”

Lunara rested against the porch railing. “Where does she work?”

“At the coffee shop on Main Street,” Morgana answered, pulling her gaze from Nova and settling it on Lunara. “But they’re closed on Monday.”

Worry etched itself in every crease and wrinkle on Morgana’s face. She clasped her hands together in front of her, stilling the shakiness I’d witnessed.

“What aren’t you saying?” I grabbed a hold of Morgana’s hands and squeezed. “We have to work together or we’ll never find her.”

“I’ve lost contact with her,” she whispered as she stared at our joined hands.

“Look at me.” Morgana slowly raised her gaze. “We already knew that. No one can reach her.”

“You don’t understand.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I have a connection with each and every one of my coven members. A metaphysical link connects me to all of you. I—I’ve got a horrible feeling about this.”

I dropped Morgana’s hand, taking a step back. “Are you sure?” After a quick glance at Lunara, I said, “Maybe she found some way to sever the connection.” I couldn’t face the idea of Thalia being gone, even if she was a royal pain in the ass most of the time.

Morgana’s face turned as pale as a full moon. She leaned forward and whispered low enough for only me to hear, “I have to consider the idea that she could be dead.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t even think it.” I took a few broken steps backward, then brought my hands up to cover my heart. “There must be a logical explanation.”

Morgana shook her head. “Even if she were halfway across the globe, I’d still be able to feel our connection. There’s just nothing more I, as the High Priestess, can do, but…” Morgana’s words trailed off as she approached Lunara. “Do…do you think maybe you could help?”

“Help how?” Lunara asked with a curious expression etched on her face.

Morgana waved her hand around Lunara, vaguely encompassing her as a whole. “Use your fae magic.” She tapped the end of her nose and asked, “Could you maybe track her scent?”

I stepped between her and Lunara. “She’s not some hound dog, Morgana.”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “I?—”

“It’s okay.” Lunara rested her hand on my arm before gently nudging me aside. “I haven’t tapped into that sense for quite some time, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Lunara stepped off the porch cautiously wandering through the front yard. With her hands held out in front of her, she splayed her fingers in the strangest manner then drew in the air like she had back in the library. A gasp escaped her when more shimmery symbols appeared in the air.

While I watched her lips move, they weren’t accompanied by any audible sound. She was either speaking too low or mouthing the words to herself. The spell she’d drawn in the air expanded and then suddenly burst apart. The glitter-like substance raced around in a line before shooting off in one direction.

Lunara ran after it while we all stared in awe. Like a flash, she disappeared around the side of the house.

“Wait!” I threw out a hand and ran after her, nearly slamming into her when I rounded the corner of the house. “Lunara?”

“She was here.” She pointed toward the field behind Thalia’s house. “Look.” She crept closer to the forest and I followed right behind her, tiptoeing in each of her abandoned steps. “Do you see that twinkle near the tree line?”

“Yeah.” I squinted, just making it out. “I do.”

“It doesn’t appear to go any farther, as if the trail runs cold.” Lunara turned to face me. “I don’t think she went for a run or a hike.” She took a couple more cautious steps toward the trees. “If I’m to believe my magic, it appears Thalia just suddenly disappeared right before she reached the forest.”

“People don’t just poof and disappear,” Morgana said as she and the others stepped up behind me.

I clutched my chest, feeling my heart suddenly racing from their unexpected arrival.

The rest of our coven must have come out of the house while Lunara and I made our way out back. The weight of their presence was like a warm, heavy blanket easing my uncontrollable nerves.

Lunara looked at me and let her gaze wander to each of my coven sisters. “They can.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Why would she have walked out toward the trees?”

“I don’t know.” Lunara eased an arm around my waist and turned me to face the others. “If she disappeared there, perhaps she reappeared somewhere else?” Trying to guide me away from the forest, she said, “I think we should search the town and see what information we can dredge up.”

“Would finding your artifact help locate her?” I asked.

“I—Well, if the legends I’ve heard from my elders are true, there’s a good chance it could.” Lunara’s shoulders tensed and she refused to look at anyone but me. I sensed there was something she wasn’t willing to share, but I didn’t fault her for that. Maybe she’d give away her secrets when it was just us.

“Lunara’s right. We should split up and see what we can find.” I laid my hand over Lunara’s as it remained on my waist. “We’ll go in search of the orb. Maybe if we find it, it’ll help us find Thalia.”

Morgana gave a solemn nod. “Go. Coordinate your movements. If you find anything, report back to me.” As we all headed toward the front of the house, Morgana added, “I’ll keep a running list of information so it’s all centralized.”

“Got it.” I grabbed Lunara’s hand when she removed her arm from around me, but I didn’t miss the look of disgust from Morgana as we walked by on our way to the car.

I didn’t understand why a witch and a fae couldn’t combine powers or intermingle. What was so volatile about any kind of relationship between them. The other coven members had looked at her warily too, like some kind of ick was going to rub off on them if they got too close.

Squeezing Lunara’s hand, I glanced back at Morgana.

Her gaze burned brightly with hate and prejudice.

My coven needed Lunara’s help to find Thalia, but what happened when she was no longer useful?