Her Witch, Her Demon: Book 1 of Hers Trilogy [WxW]

17. The Selection

Three days after Nyx crushed Crescentra, witches of Green Front assembled at the Inner Sanctum of Coven Hall. It sparked a storm within the witch community since a meeting in the Inner Sanctum heralded a momentous occasion.

Meredith had some idea what it could be. Certainly, it had something to do with the death of the grand elder. Although rumors of Ida's death floated around, with each version more ridiculous than the last, it had still not been officially announced to the coven.

Being one of the first witches to arrive, Meredith sat in the very front-row seat, right next to Alicia. A little over a hundred witches from all over Green Front filled the sanctum. The magically-spelled letter they received the night before had insisted that this was an emergency, and every witch needed to be present. Hushed murmurs heightened the tension in the room.

"What's taking the elders so long?" Alicia whispered to her.

Meredith shrugged. She'd already told her best friend everything that happened with Nyx and Crescentra. But that was just about the only thing they both knew. Last night when Meredith asked her parents what would happen now that Ida was gone, they seemed quite secretive about the whole thing.

All Meredith knew was that her coven would choose a new grand elder. Perhaps, the elders were about to announce Ida's death so that the selection process could begin as soon as possible. Except that this whole process — The Selection — typically took about two weeks. Even if Meredith hadn't been alive when the last grand elder was chosen, she still knew this tradition very well because her grandmother had told her stories about it.

Maybe the elders were taking too long because they were still deliberating on which three candidates to choose. Or maybe, she was overthinking the whole thing. It probably had nothing to do with choosing a grand elder. She'll just have to be patient and find out.

Finally, the nine elders of the council shuffled out of the elder's meeting room. Meredith searched her parents' eyes, hoping to get answers. But there was no expression on their faces. Hector, the vice elder, took center stage and cleared his throat. The room quietened immediately.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice," he began. "By now most of you have already heard the rumors of Ida's death." He paused briefly, his wise dark eyes sweeping over the crowd. "Well, the rumors are true. The grand elder is dead. She was Crescentra."

The words of the vice elder snuffed the silence into the ether as whispers and murmurs arose everywhere.

"I still can't believe this shit," Alicia whispered. "She was such a sweet old woman."

So sweet that she tried to kill me.

"We need a new grand elder," the vice elder continued. "The Selection takes at least two weeks. However, things have changed significantly in this city. And we need to adapt. About three centuries ago, the Demon Empire fell and was replaced by the Demon Circle. Even though these demons hate us, we still try to tolerate each other so we can all be safe from the Hunter Guild. It wasn't a perfect relationship. But it worked. Unfortunately, the Demon Circle of Green Front is no more. Onyx Castle made sure of that."

Shit. Meredith's heart sank. Was this what this meeting was about? To demonize her girlfriend? Granted that her girlfriend was already a demon, but still...

Hector continued, "Onyx Castle has replaced the Demon Circle and she has the power to back it up. The day she destroyed Crescentra, she sent us a message. I'll let the messenger speak for himself."

Hector nodded at Meredith's father, paving the way for him to take the stage. Nyx had talked to her parents but she had no idea what it was about. Nyx wasn't one to keep things from her. But in the last three days, she sensed that her girlfriend was hiding something from her. God, this whole thing was wrecking her nerves. Why did it feel like something outrageous was about to happen? With each second Baba waited, Meredith's heart raced faster. It wasn't until Alicia put a hand on top of hers that Meredith realized how much she was shaking.