Chapter 33

Clarissa stood in the middle of what remained of Miller's Field, ash and charred earth a grim reminder of the recent battle. Hugging her coat tighter against the unusually cool breeze, her eyes narrowed on a small patch of disturbed ground. The air was thick with the residue of intense magic, and while the destruction horrified her, she couldn't help but feel a surge of pride for her coven's power. This was advanced magic, powerful magic. These kids shouldn't be able to perform at this high of a level yet.

Staying far from the open maw of the earth, Clarissa continued her walkthrough, opening her senses. She wasn't a Withridge—Sight wasn't her family's gift—but she was a Dupont, and they had a special connection with the earth.

Pulling her hands from around herself, Clarissa raised them palms up and whispered her enchantment. "Ash of the earth, tell your tale."

Slowly, the ash at her feet began to move, dancing listlessly in the wind before forming indistinguishable shapes.

Clarissa stepped back, eyes narrowing as six crosses appeared, three with bodies tied to them. One was smaller, thinner, and somewhat feminine. Cloaked figures stood behind, talking among themselves, with another figure standing further back, just watching.

Suddenly, ash rained down hard in the shape of lightning.

Clarissa's eyes widened as she backed away, ensuring she was out of the range of the vision's action.

A male figure reached out, grabbed one of the hooded ones, and pulled him back, punching him repeatedly until he fell. The boy then moved towards the field when the fallen figure rose behind him, dagger in hand, ready to deliver a killing blow. But a lightning bolt shot through him before he could strike.

Another figure attempted to release those on the crosses but was blocked by an invisible barrier.

Having heard this part from the others, Clarissa's gaze went to the hooded leader. His eyes were raised, focused.

Clarissa followed his gaze and her eyes widened at what she'd somehow missed in the chaos. Another figure, smaller and feminine like the one on the cross, stood further away.

This had to be Maya, left to distract while the boys took a more physical approach to rescuing the others.

Clarissa took a step towards Maya's ash-figure, shocked.

The blonde wasn't just calling down lightning; she was the lightning rod. Her feet were planted on the ground, and her raised hands acted as a conductor for the electric energy. Lightning was shooting out of her.

Clarissa brought a hand to her mouth. What-? How-?

The hooded man seemed to sense something in Maya's direction, but the cornstalks that had once been there likely obscured his view of her. Every time he tried to approach, lightning rained down in front of him like a wall.

In full view, the others were combining their powers, working against the visible barrier.

A hooded man charged at Sam but was brought down by another lightning bolt. While the accuracy of what should have been a frenzied attack was fascinating, the Maya ash-figure made it even more mind-blowing because she seemed completely blind to her surroundings.

Clarissa watched as the leader of the hooded ones, the only one still alive, escaped into the woods.

Only then did the lightning stop, and Maya dropped to her knees, clearly exhausted, her body jerking with electric aftershocks as she forced herself to her feet. The ash-figure stumbled, falling several times, each fall causing a small explosion against the ground, which Clarissa realized might have weakened it further.

The ash-figure finally reached the others and nearly collapsed against the barrier, contributing barely any magic to the spell. The male ash-figure to her right—Clarissa couldn't be sure who it was—reached out and placed his hand on hers.

In that moment, an explosion rocked the scene, causing all of the ash-figures to disintegrate and fall back to the ground as the spell ended, the ash having told its tale.

Clarissa raised her chin, hugging herself tighter as she digested what she'd just seen.

And then there was what Harper had confided in her about the wolf-creature that had attacked Maya in her bedroom.

The brunette closed her eyes as a dark doubt began creeping into her soul.

It couldn't be...

...could it?

Jason blinked, sitting on the desk of the Chronicle during lunch break, his eyes wide with shock. "You kissed him?" He stared at Maya, his favorite female friend, struggling to process what he had just heard. When he'd asked her to tell him everything about the guy who'd kidnapped her and her interactions with him during both attacks, he hadn't expected this revelation.

"I didn't mean to," Maya mumbled, clearly self-conscious as she focused on the article she was proofreading for tomorrow's edition of the Chronicle.

A while ago, Jason would have been insanely jealous to hear this. He still felt a fair bit of annoyance, a lingering residue of his old crush on Maya. He'd never liked or approved of anyone who'd shown interest in her or anyone she'd been interested in. He had to admit he sometimes acted like a jealous older stepbrother. However, since joining the coven, his crush had mellowed into a tender friendship, though a territorial possessiveness still filled him when it came to the blonde. He felt a brotherly protectiveness, a sentiment he knew he shared with Dawson, but at least it wasn't tinged with intense longing anymore.

"It just happened," Maya continued, her voice trembling slightly.

"Maya, it's just the two of us here." Jason leaned over and placed a hand on her knee. "You don't have to be so nervous. I'm never going to judge you."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with worry. She sighed and finally turned to face him fully. "I don't know why I did it, Jason... but..." She licked her lips, her anxiety palpable. "I need you to keep a secret for me."

He nodded, sensing the importance of this moment. "Of course."

"When I kissed him—something came out of me and went into him." Maya cleared her throat, her nerves growing more evident.

Jason blinked. "Like what?"

She made a face at him. "It looked like pink mist."

He leaned back in his seat, processing this. "And after you kissed him, he ran out, right?"

She nodded silently, playing with her hands.

"What if you did it again?" Jason ran a hand over his shortly cropped head. "What if, in the middle of a dangerous situation, you instinctively did wordless magic? Like when Clarissa tried choking you?"

Maya blinked, leaning forward. "I hadn't thought about that."

Jason nodded, starting to like this idea. "Yeah—that sounds like what happened. You're obviously very talented when it comes to the arts—I mean, you were the last to awaken, but you're definitely picking up the pace and have gotten stronger the quickest—to Clarissa's chagrin." He leaned forward, excitement building in his voice. "What if that's the Burns gift? Instinctive magic?"

She eyed him thoughtfully. "Instinctive magic."

"It's a possibility." Jason grinned, proud of his deduction. "It would mean another of our group has found their thing. Sam has the Sight, Harper's very much an earthy-power girl, and Angelo's a genius with herbs and their various uses." He sent Maya a sideways glance. "You could be an instinctive caster... maybe in time, you won't even need to remember spells."

"That would be... incredible," she whispered, though she still didn't seem entirely convinced.

"Dawson—I have no idea what his could be. But me? I'm thinking I have an affinity with ice." Jason made a face. "My power manifested by freezing over Crater Lake when I awoke, and for some reason, any sort of ice variations seem to be my go-to spells. It's nothing grand, but I figure I should go with what I've got."

"Sam thinks you're one of the strongest of us," Maya shocked him by admitting.

"Huh?" Jason blinked, remembering that Sam had mentioned this to him once, but surprised that Sam had said it to someone else as well. "He said this?"

"In a roundabout way, and it took me a couple of days to figure out who he was talking about, but it was definitely you," Maya admitted. "And if Sam Turner pays you a compliment, you know it's not out of the kindness of his heart."

Jason was stunned, not sure what to say. During his conversation with Sam back then, he'd thought Sam was only being exceptionally nice for some reason, probably out of pity.

Maya cleared her throat before reaching into her pocket and passing him a piece of paper. "This is the second one I've gotten."

Eyes narrowed, he reached out and unwrinkled the paper, reading it. "I know who you are?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I got the first one the day of the attack in here." She pursed her lips. "I forgot about it with everything that happened, but I got another one today."

The protective instinct within him roared up once more, and he closed his fist over the paper. "Someone's threatening you."

"I don't know." The blonde tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm honestly not sure what it means. It doesn't say 'what' you are. It says 'who'. The 'what' I would get—witch." She sighed, her green eyes confused. "But the 'who'?"

Jason frowned, his gaze lowering to his clenched fist. "Who else knows about this?"

"Only you." She admitted. "And I'd like it to stay that way, please."

His gaze rose to her, understanding the weight of her trust. "I'm going to find out who this is, and I'm going to stop him from bothering you."

Maya didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached up, her hand trembling slightly as she caressed the side of his face with a tenderness that took him by surprise. "I missed you, Jason." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her voice wavered. "I missed you so much."

Humbled by her vulnerability, Jason swallowed hard. He reached out, and Maya met him halfway, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "I missed you too," he murmured into her hair, the familiar scent bringing back a flood of memories.

"Never stop being my friend again," she whispered in his ear, her grip tightening as if she feared letting go would mean losing him once more.

Blinking away the sudden rush of emotions, Jason held her tighter. "I won't," he promised. "I won't ever stop being your friend."

They stayed like that for a moment longer, each finding solace in the other's embrace. It was a silent reaffirmation of their bond, a reminder that no matter what they faced, they would face it together.