Uncovered

Chapter Three:

(Anne's POV)

I watched him walk into my room. He was exhausted, emotional. I moved over in bed, letting him lay beside me. He was soaked with stale, drying sweat. I draped the quilt over him. My arm rested on his heart.

"How're you feeling?" Ben's voice was a whisper.

"I don't know. Kimberly told me that there's nothing else she can do to heal my hands. I can't cast anymore. You look like you need sleep."

"No, I'm alright. I'm going to help you through this, girl. Casting doesn't have to just come from the hands. I can teach you and the kids old techniques. Julie would've been impressed with how you handled today."

I shook my head, "I was a coward."

His body stiffened against mine. Ben's hand went to my hip, careful to avoid the new bandages. My mind kept today on repeat. Brantley was dead. The other covens would send more assassins to pick us off. My body shook.

"Are you okay?" he moved his hand away.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about what's going to happen now. Are you staying with me tonight?" I moved closer to him.

He sighed, "If you don't care."

I smiled, relaxing into him. My hands curled from agony. Life hadn't fallen apart like this since before my days with the coven. All I could feel was pain. My mind slowed down until I drifted off to sleep.

"Anne, wake up," Ben hissed, shaking me.

"What? What's wrong?" I groggily raised my head.

Anxiety raced through me. Ben's scars shown in the moonlight as he got dressed.

"Jeremiah needs us outside. I guess there's two new warlocks coming to join us," he smiled at me.

"Has the rest of the council been woken up? How'd the newcomers find us?" I demanded.

"I'm not really sure, girl. We'll find out once we're outside. Yes, the rest of the council has been woken up. I'm sure Kimberly isn't too happy about night adventures with us," he joked.

I watched him turn away as I pulled on a tank top and jeans. We walked out of the cave a few minutes later. Jeremiah waved me over. The rest of our council gathered silently. I stood near Kimberly. She was tired, worry flickered in her blurry eyes.

"Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming out. I'm sure we're all away of the war on our doorstep. I've met two warlocks who were banned from their covens," Jeremiah stared at Ben, "We can accept anyone."

"What're their histories?" I spoke up quickly.

"Tobi is a traditional healer and Marcus is a fighter. They both bring abilities that we need," Jeremiah answered swiftly.

"So Marcus can teach a group of kids while Tobi works with our healer then," I suggested.

Jeremiah nodded before turning his gaze onto two men coming over to us. Tobi was skinny with emerald green eyes and short, black hair. I shook his hand. Marcus' face was covered by a hood.

"You guys need more walls around the temple. Other covens can kill everyone from here and here," Marcus gestured to a cluster of trees.

"We've been working on our walls. This place has been home for two years now. So. This is Anne, Kimberly, Zach, and Benjamin," Jeremiah introduced us impatiently.

"I know Anne. It's nice to meet everyone though," Marcus said happily.

I moved closer to Ben. My anxiety slowly ebbed away from his touch.