Page 140 of The Demon's Spell

It was Lena.

She hung from a noose, her body swaying in the wind. First Kenna, and now Lena? How did this happen?

Mortana girls who’d been friends with Lena sobbed loudly. People whispered, but it was like their voices didn’t exist. All I could do was stare as horror rocked my body.

“Nadine!” I heard my name and managed to tear my gaze off Lena’s body to see Lucas, Talia, and Grant racing toward me. They pushed through the crowd, and Lucas came to a dead stop when he saw Lena. I witnessed the moment the shocked pain entered his eyes. He and Lena didn’t speak anymore, but she was his ex-girlfriend. He’d loved her once… and now she was gone.

Lucas didn’t take his eyes off Lena as he wrapped me tightly in his arms. All three of my friends looked like they’d been in the middle of something when they heard the news. Talia wore a nice top, but was still in her pajama pants, and Lucas’s hair was still wet from his shower. Grant clutched the music box tightly in his hands, like he’d been in the middle of tinkering with it.

“We just heard what happened,” Lucas said in a strained voice. “Did you see anything?”

I shook my head. “I just got here. I don’t know—”

“Move aside!” someone shouted. Professor Hernandez pushed through the crowd, followed by Professor Warbright. They took one look at Lena’s body and looked like they were about to hurl. Professor Hernandez kept it together better than Warbright, who had gone pale.

“Everyone back to your dorms,” Hernandez barked. “This woman deserves some respect!”

Nobody moved. We couldn’t take our eyes off the horrifying scene as our professors cut Lena down from the rope. More people emerged from the school, until the crowd was five times bigger than when I arrived.

A car pulled up, and the priestesses emerged. “Everybody stand back!” Priestess Lilian barked. She threw her hands upward, and the crowd was forced apart by her telekinetic abilities. Bodies pressed against me on all sides.

The priestesses stopped beneath the iron archway and looked up at the piece of rope still tied there. They took one look at the bruises on Lena’s neck before whirling toward the crowd.

“This is a despicable act, and those responsible will surely meet the noose as well!” Lilian spat. “Last night, the fae kidnapped and hanged three of our people in the Dolinska town square. Alden, Rumina, and Kenna Farlane are dead. And now another life has been taken.”

Gasps traveled around the crowd, and Lucas pulled me even tighter to his chest.

“The fae have breached our protection spell!” Gwen panicked.

“That’s not possible,” Gregory insisted.

“Our magic is weaker than ever!” Ryan retorted. He stood on the opposite side of the crowd, shaking. It looked like he was ready to chop a fae’s head off. “Our protection spell is failing, and the fae got in!”

“This is indeed the work of the fae,” Margaret said. “We are a strong people, and we will not let them get away with this. I want every Executor to search the town. Find the fae!”

My heart turned to stone in my chest. The crowd began to disperse, and I turned to my friends. “The priestesses are lying. Even with the Waning, our protection spell is strong. I can feel it.”

“Why lie about this?” Talia asked.

“To cause a panic,” I said. “Kenna and her parents were hanged. That’s why the council called me last night. Margaret didn’t want to tell the coven about the fae, but Lilian insisted. She must’ve seen this as an opportunity to scare people into compliance. No one’s going to question their authority if it’s all in the name of defeating the fae. They’re using the situation to their advantage. I knew Lilian would never agree with me. This is twisted.”

“Do you think they hung Lena to scare people?” Grant wondered.

I shook my head. “They have a recording of Kenna and her parents’ death. That should be enough to scare people. But you’re right. Lena’s death is too convenient…”

I began scanning the crowd, and my gaze fell upon Professor Leto. While everyone else was leaving the scene, Leto leaned against the brick wall near the entry gate, watching on with a satisfied smirk.

I grabbed Lucas’s arm. “It was Leto! It’s traumatic enough that Kenna died, but the knife cuts deeper if we all see it first-hand. He’s feeding off the trauma. The priestesses know he did this, and they’re using the fae to cover it up.”

I let go of Lucas’s hand and pushed my way through the moving crowd toward Professor Leto.

“Nadine.” Lucas rushed behind me and stopped me before I could get to the demon. I paused when I saw Gregory approach Professor Leto. He said a few words I didn’t hear, until the crowd dispersed enough that I caught the last words he uttered.

“I’ll get right on it,” Gregory said. “It’s been nice working with you, Professor.”

Lucas and I exchanged a horrified glance. When I looked back toward Leto, Gregory had already taken off.

“Gregory’s working with him!” I realized, my stomach sinking. “It all fits. Gregory was at the scene of the first crime. And he’s a necromancer, which means he could’ve caused The Hearse accident by planting that skeleton in the road. And now he’s here. Leto must’ve offered him something as payment, and you know Gregory would take it.”

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