Emberholde Academy

12 - Kindred Beings

Dante's POV

"Valleth, you're worrying me. What is going on?" I question as I watch my trusted friend pace back and forth in my office in front of my desk where I sit. Valleth has never been one to show worry, so the fact that she's on a path to wearing out my floors, I'm on high alert. She stops suddenly, her shoulders rising fast with her sharp intakes of breath.

"Something is happening in the witch covens. The rest of the High Priestesses are calling a summit."

My eyes widen.

High Priestesses don't call a summit unless lives are at stake.

"Do you know what's happening?" I question again, my full attention on her. Her icy blue eyes catch mine and she shrugs. "I'm not sure the entirety of it, but when I reported what Eden had stumbled onto, other witches told me that similar things like that have been happening in a lot of the other realms. Places seeming to be touched by death and decay."

"Dark magic." I say, remembering that witches are of the earth - in tune with its ebb and flow – and they wouldn't harm the root of their magic unless they intended to with dark, twisted magic born of manipulation, darkness, and ill intent.

"A type of dark magic that is stronger than majority of us witches have seen."

"When's the summit?"

"3 weeks from today. I'll have to attend."

"Of course, we will survive without you. Please keep me updated if anything changes or if the High Priestesses require any assistance from us. This affects me, and the rest of us too."

"Thank you, Alpha. I will."

I watch her turn and walk out of my office, the doors closing lightly in her departure. Sighing, I lean back in my chair and groan in confusion.

This doesn't sound too good. At all.

- - -

Eden's POV

"It felt... corrupt, but familiar. It was such darkness that I felt it would just devour me whole." I explain to Adelaide and Astrid as we sit around in my bedroom; me in the bed, Astrid on a pillow on the floor and Adelaide in my computer chair.

"Valleth said that it was the same type of magic that you used back at your old pack?" Astrid asks and I nod. "Yeah. It's got me freaked. How could I possibly wield dark magic when I had no previous knowledge that I had any magic at all? It doesn't make any sense. She also told me that dark magic only manifests if you intend to use magic for bad things." I sigh and lay back on my bed, my heart racing alongside my completely shot nerves.

"There's no way that you intentionally wanted to hurt anyone. I know that for a fact. The rejection had to have some sort of affect and the feelings maybe changed the magic?" Adelaide states unsurely as she looks away in thought.

"I don't know, but I need to find out. This must be connected somehow. There's no way it isn't."

"Kinda hard to ignore the facts. You use the same magic that looks like a plague hit the forest and its familiar power to you? That's not a coincidence. Is Valleth looking into it?" Astrid asks quietly. I nod. "Yeah. Apparently, she reported it, and something is happening in other places too. She wouldn't give me full details but she's meeting with the other High Priestesses soon."

"I really hope this doesn't turn into some huge thing that threatens our lives." Adelaide says with a sigh.

"I guess only time will tell." I say, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm going to try to not worry about it, but at the same time I need answers."