Chapter 21



Katherine's scream filled Diana's ears. She cringed, wanting to help but not knowing how.

Looking around the room, she had concluded that they were in a basement somewhere. Nick was next to her. He was beginning to stir, being woken by Katherine's pain. His eyes looked stricken.

"Where's Katherine? Something's happening to her." His expression went from terrified to shocked, looking over Diana.

She knew what he saw. She could feel the bruises growing on her body, still tasting copper in her mouth from where she had bit her cheek while being beaten. She shook her head. "I don't know. They took her about twenty minutes ago."

"Who's they? How long have we been here?" He tried to move, but the ropes around his ankles and wrists were heavily knotted.

Diana sighed. "I don't know. I only woke up a few hours ago when they took me into another room. I've only seen two of them, but they're wearing black clothes and staying in the shadows. My mind couldn't process anything else."

The dark figures entered the room, carrying an unconscious Katherine and throwing her against the wall between Diana and Nick. Nick tried to jump at them, only to be pulled back to the wall by his ropes.

Diana glanced over the girl's body next to her before turning her head away quickly. They'd been worse on Katherine. They didn't bother to tie her back up. She wasn't going anywhere too soon.

They walked to the opposite wall and grabbed Danielle. Her black hair was tangled around her face, and the look in her eyes was of complete horror. They dragged her away, kicking and screaming.

Once the heavy door slammed shut, she looked up to meet James' eyes with her own. Nick was making noises, trying to wake up Katherine. James finally looked down, blood running from his scalp over the side of his face where the skin was faintly beginning to turn purple.

Tears came to her eyes. She was strong, but she didn't know how much more she could take. Being hurt herself, she could deal with it. But watching the people around her being abused so badly . . .

Turning her head, she saw Nick was crying. This was something she had never seen before. "Nick," she whispered. "It'll be okay. We have to put our power together. We have to contact them."

"I don't think that's going to be too easy." James' voice echoed through the cold room.

Diana looked up, shocked. "Why not?"

James sighed. "What they used to knock us out, it was iron, and something else I can't figure out. That's why we've been out for so long. A few days, at least. Iron drains our power. I don't know if we have any left to use. We haven't had enough time to build it back up."

She shook her head, refusing to believe him. "We have to at least try! That's our only option, and I'll be damned if we are going to let them get the best of us! The coven will find us. I know it."

Katherine was starting to come to. She mumbled something incoherent, leaning her head closer to Nick.

He turned to her, whispering gently, "What did you say, honey?"

She coughed, a splatter of blood staining the stone floor. Her voice was hoarse, but they could still hear her. "They're . . . witches."

James leaned forward from his spot on the far wall. "How do you know?"

She cleared her throat, speaking slightly louder. "I had a vision after I passed out just now. I saw the girl's face as everything got dark. In my mind, I saw her and a group of other witches leaving the original coven, being scorned. They wanted to do bad magic, but we didn't want to."

"That explains the other thing that weakened us," James said.

"If you had a vision," Diana whispered lightly, almost to herself, "Then we still have some power."

A scream echoed from the next room. Nick sat up, determined. "Come on you guys. Let's try. Whether it works or not, at least we know that we did our best."

Diana sat straight. This was going to take a lot of work.



Cassie held her overnight bag tightly as she walked through the gates at London Gatwick airport. She held Adam's arm with her other hand.

The rest of the coven was right behind her, Faye just to her other side. Coming toward them was an enormous group of teenagers, all beautiful beyond belief. Leading them was a tall boy, no older than her, with shining blonde hair and determined gold eyes that seemed to flare with bravery.

He greeted her quickly, yet politely. "Unity, I am Aidan Smith. You must be Cassie."

She nodded, taking his extended hand. "Unity. We'll introduce everyone later. What do we know so far?"

They walked hurriedly, guiding the two covens through the busy airport. Aidan spoke with a thick voice. "We haven't heard anything since last night when we received Diana's scream." Cassie noticed a brief flash of pain go through his face. "Their boat docked at a port not far from here, so we assumed that they're nearby. If nothing else, we can try to trace any energy they may have given off."

They walked out into the brisk cold. She pulled her jacket tighter, looking at the dark storm clouds above. Three white vans were parked with the doors open. Aidan turned to her. "It's going to be a little crowded. This was all we could get on such short notice. Some of my members and I will ride with your coven in the first van, while the rest of my group will follow in the other two."

Aidan got in the driver's seat while the Club hurried inside. Adam got into the passenger seat, while Cassie held Faye's hand and fit into the first row of seats with Deborah and some of the members from the other coven.

Cassie looked at Faye, seeing the look of hope in her eyes. She still couldn't believe how Faye had changed. Deborah's voice came from her other side. "It's been over the month since we've given a good ass-kicking. I'm ready."

Startled laughter came from the group, the Henderson brothers being the loudest. Cassie smiled, turning to her friend. "Leave it to you, Deborah, to make a bad situation look optimistic."

Just as Aidan was starting the engine a sensation ran through her. Not dark, like when she had realized something wrong. It was bright, like Diana.

She felt Faye's hand tighten and Deborah grabbing her arm. Suzan gasped from behind her. Looking up, she met Aidan's eyes in the rear-view mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Adam turning to look at their group.

Aidan spoke softly. "They're sending us the last of their power. We can trace it from here."

With a squeal of the tires, they were off in the direction of the white power.