Page 31 of The Demon's Spell

“How? You’re not selling the house for me.”

She stroked my hair. “We have some to get us by for a while. Grampy had a small life insurance policy I invested, and I got some money from selling your parents’ house.”

“You helped them buy that house. It’s your money.”

“It’s money I always intended to go toward your tuition.”

“That’s great we can pay for my tuition, but add the dialysis treatments on top of that, and we’ll be bankrupt in less than two years. I shouldn’t be buying two years of my life with my inheritance.”

“There are other government assistance programs outside the coven,” Grammy offered.

I shook my head. “Mom and Dad looked into those when I was first diagnosed. They’re designed to screw you over, Grammy. And what about all the other people who can’t afford their tuition or healthcare? I might have two years left, but other people won’t even have months.”

I gasped as I realized something. “Goddess, the priestesses are hurting people to get to me. If I can’t afford my healthcare, I can’t stand up to them. They’re literally going to let my disease kill me. The average wait-time for a kidney is three to five years. Even if I leave the coven, I could be dead before I reach the top of the transplant list!”

The implications of what this meant shook me to my very core. This policy change would affect so many people.

Grammy forced me to look at her. “Listen to me. You must remain well, Nadine, at whatever cost. Right now, you have to focus on saving yourself, because you’re not responsible for the world.”

“But I’m the one the prophecy speaks of. My destiny is to protect the other witches and warlocks out there who aren’t as lucky as I am.”

“You can’t worry about everyone else, not when you’re falling apart yourself. What’s important is that you stay alive, for the coven’s sake. If you really want to help them, you’ll have to help yourself first. Do you understand?”

Grammy hugged me tightly to her chest, and I closed my eyes as I embraced her. I knew with all my heart that she was right.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t responsible for everything that was happening out there. I was a priestess. It was my job to stop this.

But I felt I had less power than I ever had before. I might be a priestess, but that didn’t mean the rest of the Imperium Council was going to listen to me.

So the only option was to go above their heads, and find something more powerful than they were. Uniting the Oaken Wands was the only way out of this mess.

I prayed the task wouldn’t be as hopeless as it felt now.

I had to tell my friends what was happening. We planned to meet up at the old Epitaph room the following day. I invited Everly to join us.

When I arrived, Talia was alone, singing a beautiful song. The room had completely transformed. All the stacks of old papers had been organized neatly on the shelves, and the dust had been cleaned up. Talia stood on the counter, draping purple and teal curtains around the room. The drapes framed a huge map of Octavia Falls that she’d tacked to the wall. Above the meeting table hung a pretty black chandelier. It looked like Talia had made it from craft supplies by herself. Small witch lights hovered like flames around the chandelier and lit up the room. It was gorgeous.

Talia stopped singing when I entered. “Oh, shoot. I’ve run out of time.”

“No, it’s okay,” I assured her. “I’m a bit early anyway. I love what you’ve done with the place.”

Isa jumped onto the table, where Gus was lounging. She walked over and started licking his ears.

Talia shrugged and hopped off the counter. “I thought the Gravestone could use some sprucing up, if we’re going to spend a lot of time here.”

“The Gravestone?” I asked.

“Grant and I came up with it,” she said. “We thought our meeting place should have a code name, and this is where we write The Epitaph, so…”

“So you write it on a gravestone.” I chuckled. “Clever. I like it.”

Talia reached into a box she’d brought along and fiddled with a few items before setting them back inside. “I just… wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“I agree.” I picked up a small round music box and flipped the top open, but no music came out. It was really pretty, with a gorgeous rose design carved into the metal. “What’s all this?”

“It’s just some of my antiques. I thought I’d decorate the room with them, but I don’t know where to put them.”

“Is this new?” I asked, handing her the music box. “I don’t recognize it.”

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