Chapter 16: Newfound Sense Of Self

I told myself the entire trip to the old coven site this was a good idea. That Mom's faith in me wasn't misplaced, that only I could take care of this. That I was well trained, had shifted out of

the old Ethie and knew what I was doing. Two years and I'd be leader, after all. GreatGram had already made that very clear to Mom and to me. Ready or not, she was stepping down when I turned eighteen. No pressure or anything.

There was a time it felt like pressure. Now? Anything was possible and I would be ready.

Act one of my newfound sense of self was to turn this fight ring I'd taken part in building into a lesson the other kids would never forget. Part of the problem? How to do it without making enemies and/or terrifying them to the point this would turn into a disaster. Or having the lot of them lose respect for me so I'd never, ever be able to lead them effectively. I couldn't think that way and, though I created and discarded a multitude of plans all day and even on that walk, by the time I reached the woods leading to the site I still hadn't decided what I was going to do and my affirmation Mom's trust was well placed had slipped into what the hell had I been thinking.

For the second time in two nights I hesitated at the edge of the clearing, bonfire blinding me a moment as I shook my head at their arrogance. They still came here, still used the same stupid and ineffectual shielding tactics even though they'd been found out. I was inheriting a coven full of idiots.

That made me even more nervous about confronting them. Normal means of persuasion weren't going to work, were they? So what, then? What was I going to do?

I only realized she was there because she wanted me to, I'm sure of it. Otherwise, I think I could have walked right past the old woman and not seen or heard a breath of her presence. But she shifted her position, the crow on her shoulder letting out a soft sound, turning me away from the gathering I'd come to break up with my heart pounding in response to her sudden appearance.

I knew her, of course, though she was without her old car and she'd traded her full, peasant skirt for jeans. But her crow remained, her shining curls and the two streaks of white still held back by a kerchief. She smiled, waved, even as I crackled with irritation at the fact she stood here inside my town without permission.

I assumed.

"Who let you into Hayle territory?" It came out harsh, and I was just as happy I'd had some connection with Mom and GreatGram because that connection gave me the impetus to feel powerful enough to challenge her. Like a good Hayle heir.

Would I have had the strength before tonight? I honestly had no idea.

She didn't flinch from my tone or the sizzle of magic that accompanied my challenge.

Instead, she seemed amused, glancing into the clearing at the gathering before shrugging her narrow shoulders. The crow chattered his irritation and she soothed him with a touch.

"Hush, Henry," she said, before smiling at me, a closed and careful expression. "One of your friends obliged," she said with that kind of inflection that told me she knew they were nothing of the sort. "The lovely blonde girl." Coradine. I'd boot her butt all the way to the border and make her beg to come home again. "Invited me in, don't you know. It's all proper, I assure you."

Except it really wasn't. Because a stupid ass teenager inviting a foreign power into a protected coven territory wasn't exactly on the up and up. Fighting each other over stupid, petty stuff to stave off boredom was one thing. No one ever really got hurt and it passed the time and kept them from more dangerous things. But this was well beyond my purview and even I wasn't arrogant enough to think I could handle a strange sorcerer in our territory.

But, before I could reach out to Mom, the bird on her shoulder spoke up.

"It's okay, Ethie," he said in a clear, crisp voice, soothing and kind. "We're just visiting.

There's nothing to worry about."

Of course there wasn't, how silly of me. "Sorry about that," I said, feeling myself relax. I really had to get over my instinctual suspicion when these two were clearly just minding their own business.

"Forgiven," the woman nodded to me, still stroking the crow's head. "Good boy, Henry," she said, eyes never leaving mine. "You've had an awakening, I see." She could sense that? Weird. I almost commented but she was still talking. "And despite that, you still live in the fantasy that is coven life."

"I don't understand." Fantasy? The coven was real.

She crossed her arms over her chest, chin down, curls heavy on her shoulders. The faintest scent of mustiness and age reached me, tickling my nose. "There is more to magic, Ethie Hayle, than your family line has led you to believe. More to the world than just this coven town."

Well, duh. "There's the whole Universe," I said. This was only one plane. I knew that.

Why did her brow crease like that, as if I'd frustrated or insulted her? "That's not what I meant," she said, temper showing a moment. "But if and when you're ready to know the truth, to see what lies beneath the deluded godhood your family lives by, I'll be waiting."

That was insulting and should have triggered my demon blood. Instead I just stood there and waited for her to finish. I had something to do, asses to kick, right?

"I brought you that gift again, young Hayle." She dropped her wrinkled hand from the crow's feathers, ling fingers dipping into the pocket of her jeans and pulling out the locket. My memory flickered, my heart convulsing a moment as she held it out to me. "You seem to have dropped it."

Well, I threw it away, didn't I? Felt uncouth now, somehow. "Thanks," I said, taking it from her, feeling the chill of the metal warm in the palm of my hand. It still felt normal, overly so, but the revulsion was gone and I now wondered if I'd just overreacted. What with the fighting with my family and all. Probably that, the more I thought about it. Because overreacting was one of my most prized superpowers, wasn't it? Made life interesting, at the very least, and kept me from facing truths I now met head on. Did that mean I didn't get to overreact anymore? Bummer.

Weird, my mind seemed to be wandering when I really needed to focus on the woman. She'd think I was completely rude. "I'll take better care of it now."

She laughed, a cackle vaguely reminiscent of GreatGram that made me grin. "I'm sure you will. And when you're ready to talk to me, to learn everything, open the locket." She glanced through the trees at the gathering of young witches lingering around the bonfire before fixing me with her glittering eyes. "Best of luck with that lot."

"Thanks," I said, turning away from her, heading into the clearing. And stopped, my entire being slamming sideways, heart beating hard again as I spun back. What had I been thinking? I needed to contact Mom and GreatGram, not accept gifts from invading sorcerers. But when I turned to challenge her, shaking off the odd feeling that seemed to placate me, the old woman and her crow were gone.

Not good. I had to talk to Mom. But first, I had a job to do and I was done thinking about consequences.

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