The Promise Path

~ Chapter Seventeen ~

Authors' Note: We hope you like our story! Feel free to voice your opinion, ask any questions and point out any mistakes we make.

Avery and Lucy walk into the dark cave hand in hand. Being in complete darkness is something neither girl is used to or comfortable with, but it affects Avery more. Lucy can feel how nervous Avery is just by how tense Avery's hand is in her own. Lucy tries to help calm her down by rubbing her thumb across the back of the taller girl's hand, with little success. After a few minutes of walking though darkness and silence, Avery can't take it anymore. She uses her powers to conjure a flame in her free hand, which happens to be her non-dominant left hand, startling their guide in front of them. The person suddenly stops and turns around, looking at Avery in a confused manner,

"Why did you conjure flames into your hand?" The stranger asks.

"So that we could see." Avery answers, wondering how it wasn't obvious to the stranger.

"Why would you do that?" The stranger questions, perplexed, "There are easier ways to do that."

"Like what?" Lucy responds, getting curious now.

"Fire rings." The person replies.

"What?" Lucy and Avery simultaneously say. The stranger rolls their eyes and tells the two girls,

"Extinguish that flame then look at my eyes." Avery follow the instruction, albeit reluctantly, and both Lucy and Avery notice practically right away that there are tiny rings of fire going around the person's irises, brightly illuminating their light brown eyes. Both Lucy and Avery's eyes widen at the sight, Avery gaping at the display.

"How do you do that?" She inquires, stepping a bit closer to the stranger.

"Simple," They reply, "you just conjure up a flame and shrink it down so it is as thin as you can make it, shape it so it is a circle, and place it above your eye." While the stranger was speaking, they were also demonstrating with their hands how to do it so now they have a minuscule fire ring hovering above their gloved palm, shocking Lucy and Avery.

Avery spends the next 5 minutes trying to make a fire ring, but she can't get it as small as the stranger can. She gets very close though. Lucy beams proudly at the slightly younger girl each time she tries it, since with each attempt the ring got smaller and thinner. While watching Avery try to master the technique, a thought occurs to Lucy, one that makes her wonder why she didn't think of this immediately,

"How does the ring not burn your eye?" Both Avery and the stranger snort at the question.

"A Fire Witch's or Warlock's flames don't burn anything they don't want them to burn, that is, unless they aren't in control of their emotions. I have great control over my emotions, meaning I have great control over the fire, hence it doesn't burn my eye or even dry them out. The flames simply let light into my pupils, allowing me to see when otherwise I could not."

Lucy nods, now thinking about all of the times when she has seen Avery conjure flames. She thinks about yesterday morning, when Avery got so angry that she released streams of fire into the air and scorched the ground around her. Avery's anger meant she had no control, but the other times she conjures flames, she is in control, and nothing burns, like how the grass around the campfire last night was untouched. Avery was in pain, yet she was still able to control the flames. This revelation makes Lucy see the girl she loves in a totally different light. She can't help but smile as her admiration for Avery grows.

"That's awesome." Lucy says. Lucy's smile makes Avery grin, while the stranger stands by and watches, curious.

"Thanks." A light blush dusts Avery's cheeks at the compliment towards her powers. She's not used to people admiring her powers, she's used to being ridiculed and hurt because of the power she possesses.

"We should continue on. We don't have all day, and you still need to explain what you two are doing here." The stranger says, bringing Avery's and Lucy's eyes over to them instead of each other.

"Well, we're here be-" Lucy starts to explain, but the stranger interrupts her,

"Not to me," They roll their eyes, "You have to explain yourself to the Coven."

The Coven? Who's that?" Lucy asks, tilting her head like a curious dog.

"It's the people that lead the group of Witches and Warlocks that live in this mountain." Avery and Lucy look at each other before looking back at the stranger, exclaiming at the same time yet again,

"What?!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Around 5 minutes later, the stranger has finished leading the girls through the cave. A flash of light momentarily takes over their vision, and the three people are now at the edge of a wide cavern. Lucy and Avery gaze around it in awe, whereas the stranger, as someone who is used to the space, continues walking. The two teenagers hurry to catch up with the stranger as they take a straight path through the cavern. People stare at them, wondering about the new arrivals. They murmur quietly to each other in Russian as Avery and Lucy pass, still led forward by the stranger.

Avery keeps her gaze down at the floor, uncomfortable with the number of eyes on her. She unconsciously moves closer to Lucy and tightens her grip on the smaller girl's hand. Lucy looks up at Avery, concerned for her, only to see Avery's face carefully manipulated into showing no emotion. Even Lucy, who has known Avery for most of her life, can't tell what Avery is feeling by her expression or her eyes, and that only worries Lucy more.

"It'll be okay Avery, all will be fine. We will find Cassius and Daniel and get out of here before you know it." Lucy whispers in Avery's ear after lightly tugging on Avery's arm to indicate she wanted to talk to her. In response, Avery simply forces a smile to appease Lucy. Lucy can tell that her smile is fake, however, but chooses to say nothing. This is not the time or place.

"You two alright back there?" The stranger asks, looking over their shoulder at the two girls.

"Perfectly fine," Lucy replies confidently, while Avery stays silent, becoming more anxious every second she is stuck in the large space with a large number of people and no clear way to get out of the cavern. Lucy looks over at Avery and unlike before, Lucy can see how nervous Avery is by the way she is clenching her jaw. So, to hopefully distract Avery, Lucy decides to ask a question to keep the conversation going, "So, what can you tell us about the Coven?"

"The Coven is made up of the 9 most powerful Warlocks in our group. There are at least two of each element represented in the Coven, but whatever element is controlled by the most powerful Warlock has three representatives: the most powerful Warlock himself then the next two most powerful in his element."

"So, are Witches never allowed to be part of the Coven, even if they are more powerful than one of the Warlocks in the Coven?" Lucy questions. The stranger laughs briefly at that, stating,

"No Witches in this group are more powerful than the Warlocks in the Coven. Trust me, they make sure of that." Lucy bristles with annoyance at this. She doesn't understand why men have to be more powerful than women all of the time, women are strong too. But those strong women are just continuously put down by society. Avery is an example of that, and Lucy hates it. She hates how people are treated by others that are different than them, just because of a difference that can't be controlled.

"Well that's stupid." Lucy states, not bothering to hide her anger.

"Just make sure you don't tell that to the Coven. Any one of them could kill you in two seconds flat. Also, make sure you're not holding friends with your girl. Personally, I don't care, but the Coven won't like that. Be careful." The stranger says, just in time for them to reach two massive doors that tower over them all. The stranger reaches forward and knocks in a special sequence, which causes the doors to slowly swing open without a sound. The stranger steps to the side and bows at the waist, their arms pointing into the room, "Welcome to the Coven's Chamber."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's Note:
Hi guys! Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, I couldn't really think of much to write to be honest. Also, I thought it'd be fun to make you guys wait for them to meet the Coven instead of doing it in this chapter, so that's why that will be happening in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

~Nia and Sophia