Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 14.1

JOHN

The forest was dark as ink as I came through the portal. I'd opened it right on the edge of the camp I'd spent many summers at when I was younger. Camp Meadow Creek was a compound of over one hundred acres in the Cumberland mountains outside of Louisville.

In front of me were the main entrance, the Community Hall, and the fifteen smaller cabins the earth witch trainees stayed in when they were here.

The main area was lit up with outdoor lighting attached to the buildings, showing off the yard. Memories made me pause. The hot summers eating popsicles on the lake dock. That time I fell off the top bunk and sprained my wrist. The first time I made a tree grow from a pine cone to a full towering pine in a matter of minutes. The nostalgia rocked me hard, but it was all bittersweet now. The friendships, the lessons I'd learned. They all seemed tainted by what I knew now.

A whisper of feeling brushed by, and I turned, expecting Ezra to come through the portal behind me. But that was nuts. He wasn't at my parent's place, so why did it feel like he was here with me?

"Ezra?"

The feeling disappeared. I had to be losing it. And what the hell was I doing standing here with a portal open?

I closed it and walked out into the cleared area circled by the cabins. Heading for the center of the horseshoe shape of buildings, I figured the Community Hall would be the best place to start. It had always been the center of camp. If anyone was awake during the night, they'd be there. The lights in the hall were always on, a beacon to those looking for a midnight snack or to talk through the latest round of friend drama.

But I needed to be careful.

All the cabins were dark as I passed them, and the lingering scent of campfire still hung in the air. I glanced into one of the little windows as I went past and saw that it was empty. The next cabin was the same.

My suspicion grew. The camp was rarely without students. Had they closed it for something, like, say, a bunch of poisonous plants intended to kill off the Necromancers? I needed to find the plants first.

I eased up to one of the windows on the side of the long Community Hall and looked inside. It looked just as it had the last time I'd been inside. Long rows of tables were set up for meals and crafts when the weather wasn't great outside. There was a stage at the far end, next to the open door that led to the kitchen. Even though the lights were on, I couldn't see anyone.

"Don't tell dad."

The voice came from behind the hall, and my stomach dropped like a stone when I heard it. My sister, Tasha, was upset about something, but who replied to her made me hesitate.

"I've got to! You're supposed to be training with Mickey back home, not sneaking into the camp!" I could hear the anger in Frankie's voice.

"And what about you?" Tasha's voice was high-pitched, a sure sign she was about to lose it altogether. "Aren't you supposed to be with Mom this week?"

I stepped quietly as I could, moving closer to the back of the building. I knew Chelle was here with Dad somewhere - probably asleep in one of the cabins I hadn't checked, but Tasha and Frankie, too?

"Mom sent me here with important documents for Dad and the Earth Priest. I'm only staying the night because it was too late to drive back."

Easing around the corner of the hall, I could make out Frankie standing with her back to me, spotlit with the security lighting, dressed for the cooling weather. Over her shoulder, Tasha's eyes widened. A flame appeared in her palm, throwing off heat waves. Frankie spun around, grabbing me with the same trick Mom used before I could do anything. The air thickened, holding my body captive as I struggled.