The Wild Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 3) Read online

  I glanced ahead of us and spotted a thick forest. I smiled. That was it. That was our way out. The gate had to be just through there. The trees would provide cover. We were almost there.

  The black Pegasus emerged from within the trees. Red lightning shot into the sky.

  The Pegasus flew straight to us then circled us. Deacon leaned over the side and pointed. “Follow the red trail! Gate is fifty feet ahead! GO!”

  Then he was gone, flying back to where Emersyn’s white Pegasus was torching shadows.

  I pushed my legs harder. Come on. Almost there, legs. Don’t give out on me yet.

  When the tree line was a few feet away, Lonan soared over our heads. I glanced behind me and watched him land in the field behind us. Only Chutney sat on his back, but the second he touched ground, dozens of rescues rushed toward him.

  “Bettina!” Jackson snapped.

  I jumped and turned, only to realize I’d stopped moving. Shit. Jackson was a few feet inside the forest, standing between two trees. I sprinted toward him. He waited for me then grabbed ahold of my arm and held on to me as we ran through the trees. It was hard to see in the darkness of the forest and my legs were wobbly and tired, so having him guiding me was a huge relief. They just hadn’t trained me for this kind of shit, but I thought I was doing okay.

  “Here they are!” Cooper yelled from up ahead, though I couldn’t see him. “Over here!”

  Jackson tugged my arm and guided me to the left toward a bright white light. We maneuvered around a few more trees, and then I gasped. That light was Tennessee.

  And right behind him was the gate back to Eden.

  Chapter Six

  BETTINA

  Tennessee pushed through the gate with Tegan draped in his arms. My whole body ached and screamed in pain, but the second I spotted the red leaves of Eden over Tenn’s shoulder, a new surge of energy shot through me. We made it. We made it. We made it. Cooper was in front of me, but I was so close.

  “Goddess, I made it,” Warner cried and skipped around us. He leapt over the threshold and belly-flopped onto the ground in Eden. “Thank you.”

  “Pull yourself together, mate,” Jackson said with a chuckle behind me, his breath brushing over my neck.

  I laughed and jumped through the open gate into Eden—and skidded to a stop. My jaw dropped. I froze in place.

  The rest of The Coven stood in a line about thirty feet back from the gate.

  With weapons drawn and at the ready.

  Behind them, students from every Suit were lined up and ready to fight. The tips of their swords glistened in the sunlight. Wands were held up with little flashes of magic coiling at the tips. It looked like half the school was out here. And it took my breath away. I jogged toward them in shock. How did they know?

  Then it hit me. Emersyn and Deacon. They must have called backup. And what menacing backup they were. Easton was covered in metal body armor. He snapped his fingers, and everyone else was instantly covered. Lily threw her hand up, and the sunshine brightened. Kessler and Hunter were front and center, towering over everyone with magic coiling in one hand and swords in the other. They were all there. Ready.

  “Incoming!” Constance yelled and got into fighting stance.

  Devon leapt forward and landed in a crouch. About a hundred of her shot out on either side of her to form one huge line of defense. When she looked up at the sky with narrowed eyes, she looked exactly like my best friend.

  I gasped. Tegan. I scanned the field for Tennessee just as a massive shadow flew over my head. I slid and my balance faltered. I dropped to one knee in the dirt.

  Lonan landed right between me and the rest of Eden. He spun around so he faced the gate then dropped low so the people clinging to him could climb down. But then his big red eyes widened, and he reared his head back. He spit fire over my head in a steady stream. I dove for the ground and rolled out of the way.

  Then I jumped to my feet and spun around, and my stomach dropped.

  The shadows had followed us.

  Thick gray smoke poured through the gate and shot across the field. It raced toward us. Tennessee shouted in the ancient language, but I didn’t speak it yet so I had no idea what he’d just ordered.

  I planted my feet and raised my sword. How do we fight smoke?

  The smoke rose up and took the shape of a person. It swirled around, and then they were people. I gasped and stumbled back a few feet. The smoke were people. I glanced left and right. What was just a wall of smoke coming toward us was now a hundred men and women charging with their weapons drawn.

  I asked that too soon.

  “NOW!” Tennessee shouted, and his power swept across the field.

  The Coven raced into the field at lightning speed with the rest of Edenburg on their heels. It was something out of a Lord of the Rings movie, with two armies charging headfirst into battle. I’d never seen anything like it. Somehow I’d rolled right out of the way.

  Lonan spun and whipped his tail through the smoke-humans—and they vanished into smoke. My heart fluttered and skipped. One second they were human, and the next they were smoke. What in the hell kind of voodoo shit is this?

  Lonan roared and shot into the air, raining fire on our enemies. Chutney fired magic from his back while screaming battle cries like she’d done this before.

  The ground rumbled, and I looked up just as the herd of Pegasi swooped in. Chutney shouted and pointed toward the winged horses, and Lonan took off for them. The black and brown Pegasi flew down to let Willow and Deacon hop off then shot back up to the sky. But the big one, the white one carrying Emersyn, wouldn’t lower.

  Emersyn stood up on its back then jumped off. A stream of fire appeared under her feet, and she slid down it to the ground like an absolute freaking boss.

  “YES!” I screamed, and it was exactly the wrong thing to do.

  A handful of the smoke-humans spotted me standing there and charged right at me.

  Oh shit. Oh, shit. Shit, shit. I got this. I GOT this. Bettina, you can do this. Fight some smoke.

  “NO BIG DEAL,” I shouted and lunged toward them.

  I flicked my wrists and shot my pink magic. Two of them vanished into dust, which was totally weird. But I couldn’t focus on that because there were still several running strong. They swung their swords at the same time. I ducked and swerved and blocked their shots. I went into defense training. I was outnumbered, but I just needed to stay alive.

  I swung my sword and sliced right through one guy’s stomach. Red blood splattered across the field, and he dropped to the grass. I leapt over his body, and then Kessler was there. He grabbed two guys by the back of the neck then slammed their heads together like a gorilla. They dropped lifelessly, but I didn’t let myself look at the mess.

  “GET OUT OF HERE!” Kessler shouted and all but shoved me toward The Coven.

  I pumped my arms and dug my heels into the ground as I ran. Solo was not the way for me to stay alive. I wasn’t trained enough for that. I needed backup. I needed someone watching my back. I was still a First Year, for Goddess’ sake.

  But as I scanned the field, I didn’t know where to go. It was absolute chaos. The Coven were everywhere, shooting magic like I’d never seen. There were Swords and Wands students fighting in a blind panic—because their targets kept vanishing. There was smoke everywhere.

  Something flashed bright white under my feet, and then the ground exploded under me. I flew through the air and slammed into the cold, hard ground. Dirt and particles of grass flew up around me. My body groaned and cracked as gravity sent me flying into the air and rolling across the lawn.

  When I finally stopped rolling, I coughed out a mouthful of dirt and pushed myself up on my hands and knees. My ears were ringing like a high-pitched whistle. I blinked and shook my head. It took a few moments for my vision to clear…and when it did, my stomach sank.

  We were in trouble. There were a lot of us, but there were just as many of them. But worse, they moved too fast. One second they
were fighting in corporeal form then poof, they turned to smoke and moved on to the next person. We couldn’t keep up. It was like we were fighting with our arms tied behind our backs and blinded. Our biggest weapon was crippled by the person he refused to put down.

  I cursed and sprinted over to him. He was on one knee and shooting magic out of his arms from underneath Tegan’s limp body.

  “Give her to me!” I shouted.

  But he ignored me. He leaned to the side and fired glowing blue orbs of magic.

  I leapt in front of him, and screamed, “GIVE HER TO ME OR WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!”

  He flinched and looked up at me with wide, mismatched eyes filled with terror and panic.

  “Tennessee, we have no choice!” I dropped to my knee in front of him and grabbed Tegan’s arm. “Give me my best friend!”

  He cursed violently, but he finally slid her into my arms. I sank under her weight. She was heavier than I expected, but he’d made her look so lightweight. I sank back on my heels and dug my hands into her arms and legs.

  All around me was mayhem and madness. Tennessee was nowhere in sight. I scanned the crowd of bodies and magic—and then I spotted him.

  Tenn shot across the grass like a rocket. One second he was there, and the next he was gone. All I saw was a flash of white as his glowing body moved through the battle leaving bloodshed and bodies in his wake. I was so captivated by his terrifying skill that I didn’t see the half a dozen shadows approaching me until I was surrounded.

  My heart stopped.

  I glanced around. They were getting closer by the second. I was in trouble, but I couldn’t let them have Tegan. Everything around me seemed to click into slow motion. I dropped Tegan’s legs and pulled my sword from its holster. The fire opal blade shimmered like a rainbow in the sunlight. I called upon my magic, summoning every ounce of it into my hands. It tingled and pulsed all the way down my arms. I had no idea where this idea was coming from, but it was all I had to work with.

  I pulled my arm back then released a shrieking battle cry and slammed my sword into the dirt in front of me.

  Pink magic exploded out of me in every direction. It moved like a tsunami and slammed into the shadows. The force of it threw me back. My breath left me in a rush as I toppled over to the ground. The shadows hissed as my magic hit them, and they burst into dust.

  My vision blurred. I tried to get up, but something was pushing me down, holding me against the dirt. The sounds of fighting around me were distorted and fuzzy. The ringing grew sharper. I tightened my hold on Tegan and rolled to my side. I couldn’t have said how long it took me to push myself up onto my knees with Tegan in my arms, but when I was finally upright, the fight was over.

  “Wha…?” I tried to speak, but the sound was loud and echoing in my ears.

  I blinked and shook my head. What happened to me? My body felt like sludge, I could barely move. My chest was tight and burning, and it took me several seconds to realize I hadn’t taken a breath since I’d sat up.

  Water slammed into my face and I gasped. The cold breeze stung my wet face, but I felt it. I blinked a few more times, then my vision cleared. Mona was crouched a few feet in front of me, holding an empty cup. She glanced up at me…then poured the contents of her vial into the cup. I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing when she flicked her wrist, and another wave of ice-cold water drenched my face.

  I gasped and shook my head. Water dripped down to my arms. I looked up—everything was crystal clear.

  And The Coven was running toward me. All of them.

  My pulse skyrocketed. I glanced around for the danger but saw nothing but them. They were coming from every direction around me. A cloud of golden mist shot toward me…then stopped short. Behind it, Hunter skidded to a stop. He scowled.

  “Bettina!” Cooper shouted from my left.

  I turned just in time to see Cooper slam into a wall of pink magic then fly backwards. Easton flicked his wrists, and his body was instantly covered in glistening silver metal. He leapt toward me—and bounced off the invisible wall. Someone cursed behind me, so I glanced back only to find Chutney clutching her elbow and bouncing on one foot. Red lightning shot across the sky, but it went around me. Royce picked up a rock and chucked it right at me…then caught it before it hit him in the face.

  My body started to shake. I seemed to be inside some kind of bubble or dome. The air around me was a light pink and shimmering with energy. Nothing was getting to me except for the water Mona threw on me. I looked down at Tegan, but she was still out cold.

  Come on, T. Wake up. I shook her gently, but nothing happened. The air around me pulsed, and then a wave of electricity rolled over me.

  I looked up just as Tennessee walked right through the wall of pink magic without hesitation or interruption. He charged up to me then pulled Tegan out of my grasp. I shook out my arms then reached forward and plucked my sword out of the ground.

  The pink wall of magic disintegrated. That’s weird.

  “TENNESSEE!” Katherine cut across the grass. Her auburn hair was sticking out in every direction. She waved her hands in the air and yelled, “To the Holy Land, NOW!”

  Chapter Seven

  TENNESSEE

  Come on, Kitten. Wake up.

  WAKE UP.

  Come back to me.

  I sank back on my heels and cupped Tegan’s face with one hand. I was smack-dab in the middle of the Holy Land behind Coven Headquarters. Tegan was half in my lap, half sprawled on the cold ground. Her pale arms were covered in goose bumps because I hadn’t had a chance to get her jacket back from Emersyn. Everything had happened too fast.

  But she’d been unconscious for too long.

  “Tennessee, lay her on the ground and step back!” Katherine yelled. I must’ve made a face because she smacked my arm. “Hurry!”

  I flinched and laid Tegan on the grass that was dying from the late autumn temperature.

  “Okay, now no one can touch her while we do this,” Myrtle said in a rush.

  I gasped and glanced around. “Myrtle?”

  “She’s on the phone, speaker.” Katherine pointed to an iPhone lying on the ground beside her. With her other hand, she was arranging clear quartz crystals around Tegan’s body. “Myrtle’s going to lead a spell for us. You need to step back a bit.”

  I stared down at Tegan, and my heart sank. My body turned colder. Her skin was too pale, too white. Her breathing too slow.

  “Tennessee,” Myrtle hissed through the phone.

  I jumped and scurried back a foot. “Yes, sorry. I moved. Myrtle, what’s going on?”

  “She took in too much Heavenly power from the Garden of Eden,” Myrtle said in a rush. “Just stay back. Don’t let anything or anyone touch her.”

  “Okay,” I heard myself whisper.

  “Myrtle, ready!” Katherine tossed a leather satchel away. “GO!”

  I knew I needed to move back farther, but my body was locked in place. The glyphs on my chest and right hand were glowing a bright pale pink, and it scared me to the bone. It didn’t normally stay glowing like that. Tegan’s were doing the same. The vines of our glyph were normally black, but now they were a deep golden color. A wild tremor ripped through my body and I trembled.

  In the back of my mind, I heard Myrtle reciting a spell and Katherine was doing something, but it was taking every ounce of self-control left inside me not to reach out and pull Tegan into my arms.

  Come back to me. Please, Kitten.

  If something happened to her— I couldn’t even think that way. My heart shot up into my throat, and the world started to close in. I fisted the ground, and cold dirt squished between my fingers.

  Come on, Tegan. Come on. Please. I’m here. Come back to me.

  Tegan’s body shot off the ground and hovered a foot in the air. Her back arched and her arms flailed out to the side. Bright white light exploded out of her. I hissed and shielded my eyes. The light went out, and I looked back at her just as she dropped. Her back hit the g
round, and she gasped for air. She threw her hands out to the side, and I didn’t even pause to think if it was allowed. I reached out and took her hand in mine.

  She opened her eyes—and they were completely white. The black pupils and green irises were gone. In their place was a golden ring and nothing but white. Light shimmered around her head and then slid across her hair…turning the dark black strands to icy white. In the beat of a second, her hair went from midnight to fresh snow.

  I pulled her into my lap and brushed the white strands of her hair back. “Tegan?”

  Those gold and white eyes looked up at me. Her mouth opened, and she whispered, “Haven.”

  My stomach dropped. “What?”

  “Haven. Haven. Haven,” Tegan whispered over and over and over.

  I turned to ice all over again. That was what she’d said in the Garden of Eden, the first time she slipped into a trance. Then again outside the entrance after we found that pipe. Why haven? I had no idea what it meant or why that was what she’d said to me. The word meant nothing to me.

  Katherine squatted down and placed her hand to my shoulder. “Get her inside. She needs to rest this off.”

  I nodded and got to my feet, with Tegan back in my arms. When I turned toward Headquarters, I found my entire Coven standing there along with the others who’d gone into the Old Lands with us. They looked at me expectantly, like they were waiting for me to say something. Probably waiting for orders, but I simply was beyond that right now.

  As I stepped onto the back porch of Headquarters, Constance yelled out to them, but her words didn’t register. All I cared about in that moment was Tegan.

  Chapter Eight

  WARNER

  I reached down and pinched myself.

  Pain laced up my arm, and I sighed with relief.

  This was real. I was actually back in Eden. I was out of the balefire.