Between Page 19

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Two days later, Lila was finally feeling some semblance of normality, and emerged from Gloria's room to the sight of her companions in an animated discussion around a table which had been put up on the balcony above the factory floor. They seemed excitable, so Lila's interest was piqued instantly. Traipsing over to them, she sat at the table quietly, and everyone's attention snapped to her. Soft words of condolence were offered, and she smiled, finally.

  “I'm okay.” she promised. Her puffy cheeks and unkempt hair told them that this Zen state was new, and potentially temporary. Nevertheless, they had missed her company, and weren't about to allow her to just slip back into depression and unhinged rants about how it wasn't fair.

  “I never expected any less.” Liam promised, reaching out to squeeze her hand and offer a relieved smile.

  “What did I miss? You guys seem to be caught up in something.” Lila asked, glancing around the table at her friends.

  “Ah... you're never gonna believe this.” Troy asserted simply, running a hand through his blonde hair. He had a new scar across his cheekbone, which was oddly fetching. Judging by the way Noah gripped his hand, he wasn't exactly put off by it, either.

  “Believe what?” she asked.

  “Well, the hunters held their vote. Everyone thought it was gonna go to Jeffrey, but it didn't.” Troy continued.

  “King of vague, please grace me with the point of your rambles.” Lila sassed, and he stuck his middle finger up at her. She grinned at him, and it felt good. She knew Gloria would welcome her happiness, and that made it easier to stay that way.

  “Uh, well – they made Finn the leader.” Noah interjected, getting to the point for Troy, who shot him a scandalised look.

  “Finn? But isn't he... around my age?” Lila asked, eyes wide.

  “Yeah, but he was the only real candidate who had held command and who had bonded with us. Everyone voted for the truce. All that's left is for you to work things out with Finn.” Troy added, before anyone could steal his limelight again.

  Lila's eyebrow quickly raised, her mind processing this new information carefully, before she smacked her hands down on the table – which was such an uncharacteristic movement, everyone jumped – and stood up again.

  “So, where is he? I'd really like to get to work on that truce.” she insisted. Keeping busy was definitely high on her list of coping mechanisms; she'd cycled through the stages of grief quickly in the last four days, since she was becoming more than accustomed to loss these days. Grace stood with her, then moved to her side, and Lila gave her a confused look.

  “I've been elected as the ambassador for the civilians, since I have no intention of giving up that life. I have too much invested in it. So, I'm gonna speak up for you guys and tell them that you're not going to hurt civilians without reason. After all, I'm proof of that.” Grace shrugged, her hair a little unruly today, curls bouncing as she gave a single nod.

  It came as a surprise, but Lila quickly realised that this was a good thing – civilians had never had a voice before, and if a truce was truly to be brokered, it was only fitting that all sides were represented. She linked her arm through Grace's, something she hadn't done for at least three years, and they both said their goodbyes, heading towards the room where Finn had set up his office (another change; most previous leaders had held 'court' in the main ops room, but Finn refused to have his meetings anywhere which might disadvantage the witches or make them suffer.

  Letting themselves in after a knock, they were met with a harassed looking Finn, who had Jeffrey as his advisor and Libby, Aria and Cameron as his council, making the representation more equal. It was easy to see that Finn had no plans to be as persecuting as his predecessors.

  “Lila, glad to see you up and about.” Finn's voice was gentle, and she knew he was testing the waters. Already, he seemed far more mature than he had been when he'd brought a battered Troy to her. He'd seen how she'd done business with Jeffrey, scorned the use of the collars, and now had witches on his council. She was all too willing to give him, and the hunters, a chance.

  “I hear you wanted to meet with me, to set out some kind of truce. Grace is here as representative for the civilians.” Lila was beginning to realise why the rest of humanity were called civilians: for hundreds of years, there had been war between the hunters and the witches, and everyone else had been innocent casualties of war, their civilians.

  “That sounds perfect.” Finn answered diplomatically, giving Grace a friendly smile, and gesturing for two additional chairs to be pulled up to the table. As soon as they were, Lila sat down, not waiting for people to get settled before she began to speak.

  “The matter of a truce is simple, in my opinion. We want to remain friends with the hunters, but we won't tolerate the meddling in our affairs. If it is a personal coven matter, we will deal with it privately, and reach out for help if we need it. Under no circumstances are we going to let you take over.” Lila began, her tone far more formal than normal.

  “I totally agree.” Finn answered simply. “And we will ask for your assistance whenever a rogue witch enters your territory, and try to be respectful of your laws. We will continue our hunts beyond your borders, but here, we will trust your judgement. I know it's excellent.” he smiled faintly at Lila. “There's just one other thing – the spirits we're containing...”

  Lila nodded.

  “I know. I'll get them done today, but I'll have to take them back to my coven so that I can channel their strength. That way nothing untoward will happen.” she assured him. Finn nodded, but looked slightly unsure.

  “If you don't mind, I'd like to send Libby and Cameron with you. Simply for containment reasons, and as a show that we're working together on this.” Finn insisted, and Lila knew that this solution had not been put forward by him, instead reeking of the hands of those who were less willing to work with them. Her jaw set, but she gave a single nod of assent.

  “Those terms are agreeable.” she spoke softly, glancing up at Jeffrey to let him know she knew exactly where the suggestion had come from, and why. She knew that he wanted her to cause problems, to put the truce into jeopardy through pride alone, the way that she had stood up to him prior to the battle. What he failed to realise, in his blinkered view, was that she would always concede the little things to attain the greater good for her people. It seemed that he thought her incapable of seeing the bigger picture, and in doing so, he failed to see it himself.

  Jeffrey's jaw worked, teeth grinding together as she agreed to the terms and circumvented his plans. He knew the witches, or at least thought that he did – he'd never been part of their world, not truly, so there was no way to know for sure. Nevertheless, it was incredibly annoying to be so close to one of the witches who had turned their backs on him (for in his mind, they were all as bad as his parents) and to be unable to win even the smallest of victories. At every turn, they seemed to best him, and he was sick of it. To be beaten by children had a particularly vicious sting, and he hoped that they knew he was someone to be wary of at all times.

  Lila listened absently as Grace bartered on behalf of the civilians; it was mostly things which just made sense, and she wasn't particularly concerned about having to pay close attention to every little detail. Most of it was aimed at the hunters, who Grace had been made aware had a direct link to the government, and Lila knew that this was momentum for her friend's goals in life; she might have been adept at sports, but her true gift was her mental acuity, and she was going to go far in life – no doubt into politics. For all she knew, Lila could be looking at the future Prime Minister.

  Hearing that Grace would be liaising with the government on behalf of this particular cell of hunters, Lila snickered, earning everyone's attention.

  “Sorry, personal joke.” she coughed, looking innocent. Well, she couldn't be grown up every second of the day; it was a lot to handle. Grace smirked lightly, guessing at what Lila was thinking – they'd joked about her being a gre
at lawyer or politician numerous times throughout her high school career. This was an odd parody, but Lila wouldn't be surprised if the hunters were willing to pay her way through college in the interest of gaining another influential person in politics. In some ways, it was almost like fate.

  They spoke a while longer, then Lila stood, dismissing herself, explaining that she had to get the spirits back to her coven. Outside, she met up with Noah, who offered her a coffee. She shook her head.

  “Sorry, don't like coffee.” she explained, and he shrugged, holding out the other cup, which was hot chocolate and likely the one he'd brought for her anyway. He'd been playing a trick on her, and for that, Lila flicked him with a gentle twinge of water magick. She had found the other disciplines easier recently, since her coma. Droplets of water flicked at his face, and his eyes widened slightly.

  “Hey, that's not bad for a non-adept.” he noted, and she knew that he didn't mean the quantity of water she'd conjured from the air, he meant the precise manner in which she'd called it to her fingertips.

  “Well, I've been working on it for weeks, so you're seeing a polished practice.” she explained with a faint grin.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I do. The only reason I've been doing it is because I was going to suggest at the next all-coven meet that we inter-school disciplines so that we can figure out where everyone's at. I guessed it'd go over better if I proved to everyone that it's actually doable to some level of skill.” Lila explained, walking with him to where she could find the containers holding the spirits of Mairi and her coven. Noah seemed to know where she was going, and she found herself pleased by his intuition.

  “That makes sense, actually, but you should probably be ready for the people pointing out that you and the others aren't exactly normal in the level of aptitude you share.” Noah answered, and Lila knew he was right – the fact that he'd brought it up was proof that it was going to be on the minds of at least a small group of their coven.

  “Oh, I know. That's why I'm going to teach you some Spirit magick.” she smiled. She heard the sound of coffee being spat back into the mug.

  “Wait, seriously?” he asked.

  “I'm not drinking that coffee now, by the way.” she answered, being obstinate.

  “Lila!” Noah insisted, and she grinned.

  “Yeah, seriously. Putting the witches in their cages is going to be a cakewalk, with your bracelets and the entire coven of Spirit witches behind me, so I figured you should be there, to see your inventions being used in their entirety. Interested?” she asked, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. Noah tossed his paper cup in the bin, obviously not interested in it any longer.

  “But what if I can't? What if I'm not strong enough to get into the Spirit world?” he asked, sounding worried, like performance anxiety was in complete control of him.

  “You'll be okay. We all have these powers to certain degrees, they're just dormant.” She tried to explain.

  “I hope you're right.” he replied, then fell into a thoughtful silence, which she left him to. Better that he worry about it now and convince himself that he could do it than have someone he had pointed out was a particularly gifted witch try to tell him how easy it was. It could have the opposite effect.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The trip to the laboratory styled room where the containers were being kept was a short one, and Lila soon had them inside her car, and expected everyone to say their goodbyes. That being said, she wasn't hugely surprised when they stubbornly informed her that they were coming with her. It was their right, after all – she wasn't ready to hear that they wanted to be there for her; she knew it already, but hearing it out loud made her feel guilty that she'd disconnected, however briefly, from reality.

  There was no chance that she would turn them aside, so they inevitably wound up driving back to Markdale in one long procession, which made Lila think of the funeral she'd had for her parents, and in their own way, they were honouring Gloria and the witches who had lost their lives to the spirits. The procession took a while, but eventually, they pulled up to the coven site in the centre of town.

  When Lila got out, she was surprised by a group of civilians passing by, all of whom stopped talking immediately when they saw her, and nodded their heads to her in a manner which screamed of the knowledge they all shared, that witches and spirits were real, and they were influential in everyday life. It was a surreal moment, and she realised that Markdale had become a town where witches would be protected by the civilians they thought needed their help.

  It was going to be very hard being a newcomer to this town. After what they'd been through, she doubted that even the Government (unless they were part of the witch hunter's liaison) would get anything from the civilians about the witches who lived here. There was a kind of blanket safety in knowing this, but it was so strange and foreign that she didn't trust it, not at first.

  Removing the containers from the back of her car, she felt another wave of strangeness pass over her; she was still trying to hide it from the non-witches in town, and they likely already knew exactly what she was doing. The moment she stopped blocking the view of the containers, she gave a small smile, straightening a little. They expected a leader returning from battle, and that was what she was going to give them.

  Walking into the coven site, she set the containers down, then stopped to hug everyone and share in their condolences over her aunt. It was agreed that they'd have a wake now that she was back, and Lila promised to invite the hunters who had been closest to her, since the truce was now common knowledge. Her friends followed her, and were greeted with the same sober greetings, hugs and affection, as she had been. Even Liam, which made Lila smile almost shyly and tuck her hair behind her ear. What a difference a battle could make.

  “If everyone could take their places, I'd like to get this over with. We're dealing with particularly powerful spirits, and it's going to take everyone to help hold them once we release the containment.” she called out, her voice as clear as it had ever been, without a single tremor or break. Maybe she could get through this, after all.

  Lila cast the circle, then called down the elements and invoked the Goddess' attendance. There was something beautiful in ceremony that she had never truly appreciated before. Given what they were dealing with, Lila then formed a secondary circle within the first made up of the coven leaders and Noah, who she had promised would be part of this. Every single one of them wore their bracelets, then Lila guided them through the steps to pierce the veil. They were backed up with the spirit witches, who gave them a small push when they struggled.

  Wrapping her magick around the containers, Lila dragged them through with her, then pushed them into the vicinity of the prison, where Beth seemed to have slumped and given up her fight. The other coven members surrounded them, and then she released them, all at once.

  They made quick work of securing them in place, given that the spirits had no real power against them, with Lila partitioning off the individual cells so that none of the spirits could touch each other, in case that would boost their power. However unlikely it was that they could do anything beyond the prison, she didn't want to take the chance.

  Through all of this, Lila had an unsettling feeling, a kind of anticlimactic unease. At least, that was what she put it down to, since she absolutely was not prepared for anything else to go wrong. Which was exactly why she should have expected it, known that something absolutely would go wrong. Her life was turning out to be someone's idea of a cosmic joke.

  “Holy crap.” came Troy's voice.

  “I don't think Holy is the word.” Noah argued.

  Don't turn around.

  “Lila.” Liam's voice was breathy, shocked. More than anything else, this was something which unsettled her; Liam was mostly unflappable, and she wasn't ready to lose his gruff strength which promised things his lips wouldn't; the belief she was safe with him, that the real world couldn't reach her. Inevitably, this world view was s
hattered, painfully.

  She turned around.

  In hindsight, there was no way she could have expected this, or even been remotely close if she had guessed. The moment she turned around, she drew in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. If they hadn't been so wrapped up in getting the spirits into their cells, there was no way they could have missed this.

  Crumpled in the corner, Elsie looked small and pale, though there was no way she could be dead, given that she already was, but that hadn't stopped Liam from running over to her and pulling her into his arms. The one thing which was painfully obvious, was that the athame, usually strapped to Elsie's thigh, was missing. The sheath was visible, empty and absent purpose. Lila was momentarily stunned into staring, but couldn't continue for long, knowing that her friend was yet again at the mercy of the spirit realm.

  That explained the fact she hadn't been around for weeks. Lila felt guilt wash over her, but she couldn't bring herself to move, or to return her gaze to the unconscious girl at her feet. As much as she worried for her friend, her gaze was transfixed on the space just behind her.