Brittany Geragotelis - Life's a Witch

“Okay, let’s try this again,” I said, my patience depleted. “What the hell are you doing here and what do you want?” This time I put all my powers of persuasion behind the questions, calling on all my will to force her to answer me. Apparently, my strong emotions helped to make the spell more powerful, because Emory’s lips shook briefly as she fought against telling me what I wanted to know.

“What do you think I’m doing here?” she spat. “My leader sent me to gather information on the Cleri.”

“Why did Samuel send you? And why does he even care about us? We’re no threat to him!”

Emory snorted. “No threat? Are you kidding? Please tell me you’re kidding,” she said, shaking her head. “You want to know why Reverend Parris cares about you so much?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.

“Because you’re the only one who matters .”

We all looked at each other, confused, wondering whether that had been Emory’s goal all along: to manipulate us into turning against each other so it would be easier to get to me . I still had no idea why I was so important to them, though. I was just a twitch, with really great hair and a natural talent for casting. Since when did that equal formidable foe? And if this was the case, then was I just putting everyone else back in danger by sticking around?

When I didn’t say anything right away, Emory got bored and grunted before continuing. “How could you be so incredibly clueless? I swear, it’s infuriating how talent is wasted on people like you,” she began to rant. “If I had even an ounce of the power you have—”

“You can communicate with the dead ! How much more power do you need?” Jasmine asked incredulously.

“I don’t really see dead people, you daft twit,” Emory bit back. “It’s called lying. Look it up.” Jasmine looked like she was about to pummel her, but I gestured for her to stop. She settled back into her spot next to Emory, still breathing heavily with anger. I couldn’t have her knocking Emory out before I had a chance to find out what the Parrishables’ plan was. Emory went on.

“I thought if you believed I could talk to your dead parents, I might be able to get you to do what I wanted. And by telling each of you that there was a traitor in the group, I figured you’d lose trust in each other and self-destruct. But, apparently, you guys will trust anyone .” She glanced sideways at Asher, to which he began to shake his head emphatically. I ignored him.

“Why am I the only one who matters?” I asked.

I was still forcing Emory’s will, and based on experience, I knew that she’d continue to tell me things even if she didn’t necessarily want to. This particular power of mine was really coming in handy today, and I passed up a silent thank-you to my dad for having great witch genes. Emory might not spill all her secrets, but knowing even a little bit of the Parrishables’ plan would put us in better shape than we were in now. And even better was that I hadn’t divulged this part about myself yet. I’d been holding on to it like a secret weapon.

“Because you have power . Same reason we’ve hunted down your relatives. The magic that runs through your lineage rivals any other in the world. But you… you are the only one that Samuel has been able to find in all the world whose power rivals that of Bridget Bishop,” she said. “So why do you matter? Because he wants you, Hadley. Either you can join him on our quest for magical dominance or you can die. We know which one Bridget chose. Personally, I’d love for you to join her.”

“Why murder the others, then, if you only wanted me?” I asked, my voice a whisper. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of this hypocrite, but I could feel my emotions beginning to rage out of control.

“Samuel wanted them out of the way so it would be easier when we came for you,” she said, shrugging. “If the elders had known you were our target, they would have rallied around you, making everything so much more complicated and annoying. So, we took the army out first to get to its queen.” There was no remorse in her eyes. In fact, I’m sure she fully believed that the end justified the means. How could someone be so incredibly unfeeling? These were our parents they’d killed.

Our parents. Meaning, her parents should’ve been at the meeting in the warehouse too. How was she being so cavalier about this? “How could you do something like that to your own parents? Don’t you care about anyone other than yourself?”

“Samuel turned my parents rogue a long time ago,” she said, snickering. “They weren’t in the warehouse that night. They were standing with me, outside, watching it burn to the ground.”

This time I started to lunge for her myself, but Fallon was behind me in a second, pulling me back so I couldn’t scratch Emory’s eyes out.

“Let me go, Fallon!” I yelled, reaching for her. But he wouldn’t do it. He probably knew I could have killed her, which would definitely have started the war sooner than we intended. And deep down, we both knew I wasn’t a killer. I drew a controlled breath and forced myself to relax slightly under Fallon’s hands.

“Let. Me. Go,” I instructed Fallon, without taking my eyes off Emory.

It wasn’t my intention to use my powers of persuasion on him, but the words had barely come out of my mouth when Fallon loosened his grip. He stayed close, though, in case he needed to swoop back in. But by now I’d gotten my emotions under control. Not that I wasn’t still mad, but I wasn’t planning to strangle anyone to death anymore.

Taking a big step forward, I got so close to Emory that I could feel her breath on my face. Underneath the darkness of her eyes, I could see fear beginning to creep in. This would have made me smile if I hadn’t already been so upset.

“Don’t you dare talk about my family like that ever again. They were better witches than you’ll ever be, and the Parrishables will burn for what they did to them. But right now, while you’re still alive? You’re about to know pain unlike anything before,” I said deliberately. I moved another inch closer to Emory. Our noses were almost touching now, and I was officially invading her space. Oddly enough, I didn’t care if she was uncomfortable, because I was about to make her wish she’d never infiltrated my coven.

“You were right about one thing, though,” I said, this time my voice low and clear. I knew the others were straining to hear what I was saying, but this last bit was just for her. “I am more powerful than you could ever imagine, and you’ve gotten on my bad side. The Parrishables can come after me as often as they want. You may hurt me, you may slow me down, but you need to understand me when I say, I will win .”

I didn’t wait for a response. Emory’s pale face and dropped jaw were enough. I wasn’t playing games anymore. It was time for the Parrishables to know what they were up against.

I began to walk away, hoping to collect my thoughts and maybe start strategizing on how to defeat the Parrishables. I’d gone only a few steps before Asher stopped me.

“Hadley, wait! I’m not like her. I had nothing to do with what happened to your parents. I didn’t even want to do any of this. Hadley!” Asher tried to get to his feet, reaching out his hands like he might be able to keep me from leaving. The others pulled him back, refusing to let him get any nearer.

Emory took advantage of the scuffle to yank herself free of Peter’s and Jasmine’s grip, and she began to run toward the back fence and beyond it. To freedom.