Page 13 of The Demon's Spell
“See what I mean?” Mandy demanded.
Chloe drew a deep breath to calm down. “Sorry. I’m trying to do better.”
Mandy shot her daggers. “You called Amy a squinty-eyed dyke and said I was her fat Spanish sidekick. I’m not even Spanish! You can’t just walk in here like everything has changed just because you broke your curse.”
“But everything has changed!” Chloe snapped. “I may not be able to change what I said in the past, but I’ll damn well make an effort to change the future.”
Lucas quickly stepped in. “If we can’t get along, the priestesses have already won.”
“You don’t have to do anything if it’s too overwhelming,” I promised Mandy.
“No, I want to,” Mandy assured me.
“I’ll work with Mandy on the demon research,” Grant cut in. “Talia and Chloe can research the Wands. Does that work for everyone?”
I nodded firmly, and others quickly agreed. I held my head high as I announced, “Then it’s time to get started. The priestesses have created an army with Miriam’s Executors, but we’ll defend our people. We’ll be the coven’s shield.”
“That’s a cool name, actually,” Miles remarked.
Lucas nodded in agreement. “The Coven’s Shield, it is.”
Hope surged through my chest. With all of us together, I felt like we actually had a chance of defeating the priestesses.
An uprising had begun. The priestesses wanted a witch hunt, but they would face a revolution.
CHAPTER 3
LUCAS
Classes started the next day, and my head still buzzed with all the information we covered in our meeting. The talk of killing people shook me, even though I didn’t regret killing Stella. She was responsible for Amy’s death. But I feared it wasn’t the last time I’d make a choice like that.
The coven didn’t know the truth about what happened that night, and it drove me mad. If only they knew what they were truly up against, we could protect them better. But the priestesses had made sure Nadine and I couldn’t tell anyone what really happened to Stella. Hell, I couldn’t even tell my therapist. I was still seeing Dr. Mack, even though she’d denied my psych eval for the kidney transplant. Despite her evaluation, she was still a good therapist. I figured if I stuck with her long enough, I could show her how much I’d changed. She didn’t think I was ready for the transplant now, but I would change her mind.
I was still trying to sort out my thoughts when I entered my Advanced Mortana Magic class. Chatter filled the classroom, but I kept my head down as I headed to an empty chair at the back of the room. Oliver followed beside me and plopped down at my feet, licking his paws.
I wasn’t really paying attention until I heard Lena from a few rows up. She spoke so loudly, the whole class could hear her. “Have you seen our professor yet? He’s so hot.”
Samantha shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Lena didn’t usually talk to Samantha, but she was the only girl nearby. Lena had to tell someone the latest gossip, I was sure.
“Uh, I guess Professor Warren’s kind of… cute?” Samantha said.
Lena laughed loudly. “I’m not talking about Professor Warren. He’s not teaching this class this semester.”
My brow furrowed. Professor Warren was my advisor and easily one of my favorite professors. He’d definitely been listed on my schedule as the professor for this class.
“What happened?” Samantha asked, sounding worried.
Lena waved her hand. “He picked up a senior lecture or something. I don’t know.”
A group of girls entered the room. They spoke over one another, and I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Lena sat up straight in her chair as the girls gathered around her. “You saw him?” she asked brightly.
“He is so cute,” one of them gushed. She tried to keep her voice down, but I could hear every word.
Lena bounced in her chair. “Right? I mean, I might have to schedule some private tutoring, if you get what I mean.”
Leroy leaned over the desk next to her. “I’m available for private tutoring sessions.”
Lena wrinkled her nose. “Ew. Get lost.”