Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Unfortunately,” my mom adds, “it isn’t a quick fix. We have to plan, to prepare. We need shields and wards in place, along with the spell work.”
“How much time do we need, Poppy?” Lucy asks her.
“Ideally? A week.”
That garners an uproar, and she waves her hands in the air. “Calm down, I said ideally. I think we can be ready in twenty-four hours if we don’t sleep and work through the night.”
“We can do that,” Percy says with a nod. “We’ll be ready by tomorrow.”
“And in the meantime, Xander’s just out there somewhere, suffering?” Lorelei shakes her head and wipes tears off her cheeks. “That’s absolutely unacceptable. We can’t leave him out there in agony.”
“Lorelei, we don’t know where he is,” Breena says, her voice gentle. “We don’t know where that thing took him.”
“Could they go into Hallows End?” I ask Jonas, and the other man suddenly looks shell-shocked.
“I-I honestly don’t know. We know that it was in Hallows End when it inhabited Alistair’s body, and that’s how it got to Breena. So, I assume it could do that, yes.”
“It would make sense for it to hide there,” Lucy says. “Hallows End is hidden. We can’t get to it there.”
“The townspeople wouldn’t think anything of a crow being in town,” Jonas adds. “There are crows in Hallows End all the time.”
“Then let’s go,” Lorelei says, but I shake my head.
“We can’t just go marching in there,” I reply. “We all know that the people who live there would be terrified if a bunch of us just went barging in. They wouldn’t understand.”
“Can we put them under some kind of a spell?” Astrid asks. “So they don’t see us? Perhaps a sleeping spell where they all just sleep right through it.”
“Okay, hold on,” Percy says. “First of all, we don’t know that’s where Xander is. Where it is. And second of all, that’s a whole lot of people to put under a sleeping spell.”
“Just under two hundred,” Jonas confirms. “But I can go there now and look for him.”
“Please, do that.” Lorelei reaches for Jonas and holds on to his hand tightly. “Would you please do that right now?”
“Consider it done. I can speak telepathically with Lucy, so you’ll know as soon as I confirm one way or the other.”
“Thank you.” Lorelei offers him a watery smile as Jonas walks away, and then he starts into a jog across the meadow that leads to Lucy’s house and the bridge to Hallows End.
“We need to get started on our teamwork,” my father says. “Even if we do find him, we’ll still need the tools to defeat him. So, let’s get to work, everyone.”
There are roughly thirty members of the coven present, and they all begin breaking off into groups, immediately discussing plans.
“We work well together,” Breena says as she watches the others. “Whether it’s for something good like a holiday celebration, or something hard like this, our coven has always worked well together.”
“There’s a reason it has survived all this time.” I loop my arm around her shoulders. “The roots of this coven go back to the days of the witch trials.”
“For you and me, they do. But we have newer witches, too, and I think that’s important. I like that we aren’t snobby.”
“I can see that. You’re too sweet to be snobby.”
A cloud moves over her face, and she turns to me. “Giles, I know my mom was being nice before, but does everyone see me as being a naïve, nice girl?”
“Naïve? No. But you are nice, and you have a kind soul. You’re a pleaser.”
“That doesn’t make me weak.”
“No, ma’am. It definitely doesn’t make you weak.”
“I’m beginning to realize that people underestimate me, and it’s really annoying. I’m a talented witch in my own right.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I don’t think your mother was trying to sound condescending, honey.”
“She may not have meant it, but that’s exactly how it sounded and came across, and I think I’m done letting people do that to me, even if they mean well. I’m a smart, successful person. I want to be treated as such.”
“As you should. I’m glad you stood up for yourself. A year ago, you might have just laughed and sat down again.”
“Maybe. Not anymore. The stakes are too high now, and I’m not the same woman I was a year ago. I’ve learned too much about myself to go back to being her.”
“She’s still a part of you.” I kiss her head and hug her to me. “But you’ve grown, too, and that’s important.”
“Yeah. We’re going to defeat this jerk, Giles.”
“I hope so. For Xander’s sake, I truly hope so.”
Chapter Nineteen
If he had known that inhabiting Xander would give him control of all of the witch’s gifts, he would have gone this route a long, long time ago.
He can fly, soar above Salem and Hallows End, watching the little witches as they go about their daily lives, completely oblivious to the pain and torture he has in store for them.