Page 90 of The Demon's Spell

And defeated.

“No,” I gasped, though I already knew the truth. I could see it in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Nadine. But the priestesses got to him first,” Verla informed me grimly. “We will never know the truth of why he betrayed us, because William Connor is dead.”

CHAPTER 11

LUCAS

By all official accounts, William died from a fall down the stairs. He’d broken his neck and was dead instantly. The priestesses had staged an accident, but we all knew what happened. They had laid judgment upon and killed William all in one night. If they were that determined to stay in power at any cost, then all of us in the Coven’s Shield needed to be very careful.

I was still pondering it long after I heard the news. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going as I walked down the hall. Someone rushed out of a dorm room, knocking into me so hard we both fell on our asses. Oliver jumped out of the way before I could land on him. The guy had been carrying a box, and all the contents scattered. He lay flat on his back, and it wasn’t until I stood to help him up that I saw it was Quentin. He groaned as I helped him sit.

“You all right?” I asked.

He frowned, looking totally defeated. “As good I can be, considering.”

He started putting things back into the box, and I hurried to help him. I picked up a comb, a tube of toothpaste, and a small potted plant that had spilled dirt everywhere.

I scooped the dirt back into the pot. “Where are you going with all this?”

“Home. I’m moving back in with my parents.”

“You’re moving?” I balked.

He sighed as we finished packing the box. “I have to. I’m dropping out, and I can’t afford my own place.”

“You can’t drop out!” I protested. It was unheard of to drop out of Miriam College of Witchcraft. Our magical training was imperative to learning our powers. “If you can’t afford it, we’ll get you a scholarship.”

Quentin snorted as he lifted the box and stood. “They’ve already taken our healthcare. How long until they cut our scholarships, too?”

His question was like a punch to the gut, because I knew all too well how possible it was. I wouldn’t be here without my scholarship, and the last thing I wanted was to drop out of school. I couldn’t imagine what Quentin was going through.

He sighed. “It’s not about tuition. It’s Lydia’s medical bills. The doctors are hopeful she’ll walk again, but only with ongoing care. If I don’t get a full-time job to pay for it, they won’t treat her.”

“Nadine set up a fund online—”

“That’s already been taken down.”

I gaped. She’d only organized the fundraiser a few days ago. “How’s that possible?”

Quentin shrugged. “Someone reported it to the site she set it up on. I guess they think she’s scamming people or something.”

My hands curled into fists. The priestesses had to be behind this.

“This is what I have to do,” Quentin said. “I have no other choice. Goodbye, Lucas.”

Quentin stepped around me and hurried down the hall. All I could do was watch him leave, because I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t tell him he was making a mistake. He was doing everything in his power to help Lydia. I couldn’t tell him we’d find another way to pay for it, because we’d already tried, and we’d failed.

“Damn it,” I growled under my breath. There was only one way I could help, and that was finding the Wands, banishing the demon, and fixing the coven.

I headed to the library and found a secluded area behind stacks of books. The study area had a single couch that looked out a window toward the forest. I liked it here, because it was quiet and the view was nice. It helped me concentrate.

I sat with my legs propped up on the couch and the textbook Professor Warren had given me spread across my lap. The book detailed all sorts of rare magic, and sifting through it for details on portals was tedious and time-consuming work.

Everything I read talked about fae portals. The fae were said to be able to access different realms easier than other races. It’s how they came to Earth from their home realm, Edinmyre, centuries ago. According to the book, portals were merely holes punched through the fabric of reality.

In theory, all I had to do was imagine the place I wanted to go, focus my magic, and connect two points in space. Maybe it was that simple for the fae, but their entire magical system was based on manipulating their reality. Hell, they could make illusions solid just by believing in them. That magic didn’t come so naturally to a warlock.