Life's A Witch

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"I thought that perhaps his loyalty toward his family would encourage him to do the right thing," Samuel said, looking straight at me. "But I should have known that dealing with children can prove difficult at times. Getting my own niece to make up that story about Bridget all those years ago was nearly impossible. I had to use an encouragement spell just to pull it off. Still, I would have thought it easier to make this boy deceive you. After all, there was no allegiance to your coven when I sent him to you."

Samuel gestured at Asher, who was still lying in a heap on the ground. I wanted to run over to him to make sure he was all right, but I knew the moment I stepped off that porch and away from the safety of the house, all hell was going to break loose. So I had to stay where I was. It was obvious by now that what Asher had said was true. He'd been forced into my life under false pretenses, and had been pulled in two different directions. Either betray me or lose what was left of his family. I didn't envy his choices.

"It is true, the boy was a disappointment, but this one proved worthy." He pointed off to the side. Suddenly Emory was walking out of the shadows toward Samuel. She had a big grin on her face and strutted around like she'd just been announced the next Miss America. "She ended up surprising even me. Once given the proper encouragement, Emory went forth and made me proud. Oh, and to hear about her talks with you regarding your dearly departed . . . it was inspired. Come here, dear, and take a bow."

I gritted my teeth and ignored the fact that my head was telling me to destroy the double-crosser. What Samuel was saying was true. Her deception was far worse than anything Asher had done, simply because she and her family had been members of the Cleri for as long as I could remember. We'd grown up together, trained together, even had family dinners together. The fact that she'd willingly set her sights on destroying us? Well, that was disloyalty that couldn't be forgiven.

"Thank you, Reverend," Emory said, taking her place at his side. There was no sign of the innocent girl she'd been with the coven while she was under our roof. The smile on her face now was devilish, which matched her all-black ensemble. Guess the flowery Emory was gone for good. "It's an honor to serve you."

"Why?" I startled myself as the question escaped my lips before I could stop it. I didn't want to show that I even cared to hear the answer, but I knew it was what everyone else was wondering as well. And after all we'd been through, I felt we deserved a response. So I let the question linger in the cool night air.

Emory looked up at Samuel as if waiting for his approval. When he nodded, she turned back to me with a sneer. "Why?" she asked. "You seriously have to ask? Okay, how about this: The Cleri was a dead end, Hadley—emphasis on dead. There was all this power but no one was using it. We were encouraged by our elders to keep our magic hidden to the world, stifled. That's no way for a witch to live."

"They weren't telling us not to use our magic. They were trying to teach us the right ways to use it. We can't just use our powers for our own self-serving reasons. It leads to chaos and disrupts the order of things. It's not our purpose, not our way of living," I said.

"And I think it's time to do things differently," Emory said. "I was sick of being weak. So when Reverend Parris came to our family and offered us more, I knew I had to do it. It was my destiny."

"It was your destiny to be a traitor? Because that's what you are. You betrayed your own coven, the ones who loved you. . . ."

"Loved me? Are you kidding me with this? Hadley, the only person you care about is yourself. I mean, why else would you come back here when you know that the only person we're after is you? Do you even care that you're going to get all of them killed?" Emory asked, narrowing her eyes at me. "Because that's what's going to happen. We will win and they will die. And it will be all your fault."