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  “What's it like out there?” she asked, finally voicing her real concern. The moment Noah stilled, she knew she'd been right to worry.

  “They... I...” Noah started unsurely.

  “Let me guess, you guys had a conversation about not telling me, because it could negatively impact my recovery?” Lila raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, staring him down and refusing to allow him a moment to come up with some kind of clever lie, as intuition told her he would try.

  Finally, Noah sighed.

  “Fine, but I wasn't the one who told you, okay? Liam promised pummelling, and I'm just not ready to die.” he replied.

  “Cross my heart.” Lila answered, but didn't finish the saying – it was too much like tempting fate.

  “Are you sure? Because ignorance is bliss, let me assure you...” Noah seemed reluctant to share anything.

  “Noah.” Lila insisted.

  “Fine! Okay. Fine.” he sighed. “It's bad out there. Really bad. We've been out of contact with the covens for a few days, but that could easily be because the phone lines are down. It looks like we got hit with a nuke, most people are hiding indoors, and we're losing control of the situation – people are crying out that the military needs to be called in.”

  “Let me guess – in this case, we're the military.” Lila answered, no emotion in her voice.

  “I'd assume so. Apparently the witch hunters are led by a secret branch of the government, since whoever is in office is told the secret of the supernatural side in the world, and they're kept up to date on everything happening.” Noah continued. Lila really wasn't surprised; the way a lot of the witch hunters moved, it was clear that they had some kind of training. They didn't move like a military unit, and a lot seemed to be completely freelance or legacies, but they knew how to work together, and seemed to have a reach which far surpassed the abilities of a common man.

  Lila nodded thoughtfully, biting her lower lip.

  “I don't want to be vain or anything, but we're not still here waiting for my recovery, are we?” she asked; It wasn't really an unusual thought. Her power was a great last resort for a group of people who didn't care if she lived or died. After all, they already knew she couldn't stand the sight of people she'd failed to keep alive. It was the best kind of manipulation possible.

  “Well.. partially. They know that you're important to us, and Adam already told them we couldn't work without you.” Noah was honest to a fault. Lila needed to know, but she couldn't help but feel guilty that she was the one stopping them from helping everyone out there.

  “I don't want you guys out there without me, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like I might be more of a burden than a help to you.” she admitted. “What if I get you all killed again?”

  “You didn't cause that last time. We were completely caught off-guard.” he soothed. “It's really not your fault.”

  “It feels like it is.”

  “Well, that's because you've got this insane idea that because we voted you to lead the covens, that means you're one hundred percent responsible for every bump and graze we get.” Noah's tone was playful, despite the serious topic – she appreciated it; he was a little on the nose. “You're not, you know dang well that we all have our own strengths, and we've all had the same or more training that you've had. That means that we're responsible for our own magick. If we didn't pay attention to something and have a weakness as a result, or if our magick isn't strong enough, that's all our own fault.”

  Noah's insistences went a little way to easing her fears, and she smiled gratefully. It didn't mean she wasn't going to help them in anything they needed, but at least she felt like it was her choice rather than her duty now. She felt a little tension seep out of her shoulders, like some of the world had shifted its weight.

  “What's the other reason?” Lila asked.

  “Other reason?” Noah appeared to have forgotten what he'd said already, and Lila hedged a bet that he was already thinking about his gadgets.

  “The other reason we can't go out. You know, aside from me.” she prompted.

  “Oh, that. Well, we've got a way to trap them, as you know, and you were going to build a Spirit prison to hold them, but their bodies are still vulnerable. We need a way to stop any more spirits possessing them.” he explained.

  “I'll do it.” Lila replied instantly, and as soon as she saw the look Noah gave her, she knew that it wasn't going to happen.

  “Sorry, Li – There's no way you're entering Spirit to fend them off. Gloria and Liam would kill us if we ever agreed to that, and we know you're not up to something like that.” his voice left no room for argument.

  She was silent for a moment, thinking about the problem. She ran through their plan from start to finish, to see if an obvious answer would occur to her. It came to her slowly, but her idea was brilliant in its simplicity.

  “Then we protect the bodies permanently, with magick.” Lila's voice sounded loud to her own ears after the silence.

  “A shield?” Noah asked, catching on quickly. The way his eyes lit up, Lila knew that he was running with the idea and improving it mentally. “A kind of Faraday cage, to stop certain people or energies touching them.”

  “Exactly. We also have to be careful about burying our own dead until they're in the prison.” Lila mused.

  “Cremation. It's safer.” Noah suggested, and she nodded.

  As much as she preferred burial over cremation, she knew he was right. It also meant that everyone who died before their situation with the spirits was resolved would have to be cremated, though she had a feeling that Noah would make a few of the cages, specifically for those who couldn't bear to be cremated or whose loved ones couldn't handle it. He was that kind of guy – always giving.

  “Hey, how are things going with Troy?” she asked; she'd had enough shop talk for now.

  When he shrugged, Lila heard alarm bells in her head.

  “They're okay, I guess. The whole collar thing has him... irate. He's acting a little selfishly, and I can understand it – I just don't like it that much. I know no one is a saint, but he's usually playful and fun, and his attitude lately, he's so moody.” Noah explained.

  “It sounds like he's depressed.” she sympathised.

  “Exactly, and I know he deserves the time to work out all his issues – his life is literally on the line. It's got to be one big long life flashback.” Noah frowned.

  “Yeah, but your life is on the line, too. Everyone's is. You're entitled to your own emotions, too. Don't hold them back. When we get through this, the last thing you want is resentment because he was allowed to fall apart and you weren't. You guys just need an outlet, I suppose.” she reached over and put her hand on his arm, squeezing lightly.

  “Well, you're getting your grip back.” he smiled, changing the subject none-too-subtly. “Though, if this is you at half strength, I pity anyone you get your hands on at full strength.”

  Lila pulled her hand back, blushing.

  “Wow, so feminine, I apparently have a grip like a boa constrictor.” she chuckled faintly.

  “Don't get hung up on the whole feminine thing. It's way better to be badass than to be the person someone has to protect, and you're definitely badass. I hope Liam appreciates that.” Noah smiled.

  “Oh, uh, he's too busy being even more badass.” she answered.

  “Funnily enough, that's exactly what he said about you.” Noah chuckled.

  “Wow, we're so Stepford. We're going to start arguing over who's more 'swell' any minute.” Lila added, joining in with his laughter. Before long, they were laughing with riotous volume, in the way that only world-weary people could. Small things became infinitely more amusing, and before long you were laughing like you belonged in an institution.

  “Wait 'til the kids come along.” Noah added, and Lila scrunched up her face.

  “Woah, I'm only nineteen, way too young to think about stuff like that. Besides, with everything that's going on, I'm pretty sure I'm
gonna be a career woman for the foreseeable future. If we even have a future for much longer, that is.” She added, a sombre note entering her voice as she really thought about it. Dying meant that she would never have that future, not in this life. It seemed that there was even more to think about than she'd even considered.

  “I can see we're going depression alley pretty quickly here. What do you say we go flex your magick muscles?” Noah asked, already reaching to unfasten the weights from around her wrists. She held out her arm to make the task easier, then lifted her feet up so that he could get those too, for no other reason than sheer laziness.

  “I didn't know you were personally handling my rehabilitation now.” Lila chuckled faintly, rubbing her wrists to ease the chafing pain she hadn't noticed building up while she was using the cuffs.

  “Oh, I'm not. I'm gonna hand you off to Gloria when we get out of here. She made me promise.” he answered, and Lila tensed. “Which may have been a mistake.”

  “No, it's just... I'm... I get that we're doing the exact same thing she is, but she signed on to this without knowing all the facts. It's hard to shake off the impression that she's a turncoat.” Lila frowned.

  “You need to realise.. the torture that Adam, Rose and Sadie were put through is nothing compared to what she went through. It's not like she just decided to go along with them. It was on pain of death, and as you found out, they have pretty effective ways of keeping people loyal.” Noah murmured softly, rubbing his thumb over her wrist soothingly.

  “What did they have on her?” Lila asked, feeling like she sounded like a child.

  “I guess you'll have to ask her, won't you?” he answered, and Lila made a face at him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Adam was getting very, very impatient with the man he was talking to, who might as well have been a cardboard cut-out, given how little he was helping with his inquiries. The witch hunters and witches had been snapping at each other more and more the longer they were kept in confined quarters, and it wasn't made any better by the fact that they'd seen injured witches coming in and yet had no information on what missions were being sanctioned, or if these were witches who hadn't been part of their group originally. It was hard, being unable to keep in contact with their friends and family, but no one had restored the cell towers, and he didn't blame them – with the Keres coven out there, their normally peaceful homes had been turned into a war zone, and no one was safe. No one had any realistic totals on the dead, or even useful intelligence on whether or not the Keres witches were still moving.

  “I get that it's above my pay grade, that's not hard to do considering I don't actually get paid for this.” Adam growled. “It also doesn't help that witches are second class citizens around here, but we're also very dangerous when wound up and you're getting me there pretty quick. All we want is to get out there and see if we can get to our covens, but despite the fact we keep seeing people coming in, you're assuring me that no one is going out. Frankly, I don't believe you. It seems more likely that you're securing your assets so that nothing happens to them before you find a use for us.”

  “I can assure you no one at your level of clearance is granted leave at this time.” The man's voice was practically monotone by this point, and Adam felt a tic pulse at the side of his cheek.

  “At our level, what does that even mean? Is there anyone else even at our bloody level?!” he felt his temper snap, and the ground rattled, causing the guard to step back in alarm. Adam felt a hand grip his arm, and a wave of cool air passed over his rage-heated skin.

  “Adam.” Sadie's voice was soothing in his ear, and he reeled his power back in quickly. This incident would no doubt go against them, and he kicked himself mentally for his quick temper, which he'd hated since he was a young teen. Rose had somehow avoided most of the temper flares, but she wasn't immune – it was a common flaw for young Earth witches (and some older ones, too).

  Reluctantly, he wrenched himself away from his conversation with the witch hunter, though he wasn't getting anywhere anyway. It was strange how much loss you could feel simply from giving up on a course of action, however futile it might actually be. He could always find someone higher up the chain to ask the same questions to, but he had a suspicious feeling he'd get the exact answer he'd been hearing on repeat for what felt like hours. It was better to pretend otherwise for as long as possible.

  Turning, he wrapped his arms around the blonde girl.

  “Thank you.” he murmured, and she shrugged as if to indicate it was no big deal – they knew it was. “That guy was really setting me off. We all have loved ones out there, whereas theirs are mostly in here. They've got no idea what it's like. Not to mention, they all have some kind of training in this stuff – staying cool and collected no matter what.” he frowned.

  “We're gonna get through this.” Sadie promised. “We have electricians in our covens – they'll get the cell towers running again if it's the last thing they do. They want to know about what's going on here as much as we want to know about them.”

  “I didn't even think about that.” Adam felt a little of the tension ease out of his body at the realisation that in five covens, there was surely at least one person who was capable of getting even a rudimentary cell service up, or perhaps some kind of internet access using the fibre optic cabling. Maybe they'd even find a way to connect with the radios they used here. It definitely wasn't all on them. He really had to stop underestimating his coven members – they weren't all babies who needed him to save them; they were competent witches with skill sets of their own.

  Something told him he wasn't the only one who kept doing this, though. It was the burden of responsibility over others. None of them had older witches in coven leader roles to show them the ropes and it was exceptionally easy to overestimate how much you actually had to do. Surely it was enough to keep trying to save the world. Even their own parents hadn't been able to stay alive when they'd been caught off guard, and it was because of this that they were in the deep end, trying to figure out if they knew how to swim. If he didn't resent them for that, there was a strong chance his coven would forgive him for failing to be perfect.

  “Where's Rose?” he asked, a flare of panic overtaking him, and Sadie was there again to calm him – he didn't know what he'd do without her.

  “In the cafeteria, complaining about the food.” she chuckled. “So basically where she spends half of her time these days.”

  “Tell me about it. We all seem to have the same boring routines. Is it any wonder that we're losing our minds?” Adam sighed. “Witches were never designed to be cooped up in these conditions.”

  “Don't go all hippy on me. You know I can work anywhere.” Sadie smirked.

  “Show off. Surely the stale air is bugging even you?” he countered.

  “Okay, well, when you put it like that, it's not exactly pleasant.” she conceded. Adam felt her shiver, and grasped the chance to be the saviour for once, wrapping his arms tight around her. “Air conditioning in winter isn't a great idea in general, if you ask me.”

  “Can't you just whip things up in here, freshen it up?” he asked, curious about the limitations of her power; for all they'd been spending time together, none of them really spoke about their powers. It was too much like listing their attributes before stepping in front of a firing squad.

  “Theoretically.” Sadie answered, burying in his arms willingly even though the moment of coldness had passed. “But whether I should or not is a different matter entirely.”

  Adam rolled his eyes, catching the tip of his tongue between his teeth in an attempt to stop him saying the things he really wanted to, none of which were even remotely friendly. He wondered if they'd shoot them for unkind words alone. Truthfully, he wouldn't put it past some of these people; while the administration seemed to understand their value, the information had barely been passed down the lines of command. Half of the hunters stared at them in open animosity, held back by orders alone. He didn't think those or
ders would stand for very long if it was made personal. They might do as they were told as a general rule of thumb, but personal grievances were dealt with on an individual basis.

  Would his friends avenge him? Would Jeffrey punish the person who killed him?

  There were too many unanswered questions to even consider allowing half of the curse words he thought about to spill past his lips. Better safe than sorry, after all.

  “You're right. I don't think any of us should use our powers if we can avoid it, beyond using them on the range.” he answered. The 'range' was a specially protected room where they could use their magick openly, only risking their own lives in the process. It was kept separate from the rest of the buildings, and was several feet underground. The corridor you had to pass through in order to get there was made up of the same black onyx as the prison, so any magick used in the range would not reach the main complex. It was very well thought out, to put it mildly. At least in terms of keeping the pesky witches contained at all times. He'd even heard stories, muttered under the breath of various disgruntled hunters, of course, about the many defences the building could drop on an unsuspecting magick user at the drop of a hat. This would be something to be celebrated if the Keres witches were the only ones it would affect.