Page 23 of First Ritual

Grimoires, seriously. Cryptic fuckers would kill me one day. I’d prefer he cut to the chase and let me know if I should run screaming from the Buried Knolls. This game could add a layer of danger that I hadn’t weighed before making my decision to come here. “Go ahead.”

“The first thing you need to know is that we are in the process of electing a new coven leader. However, we have been doing that for the last three hundred years.”

My eyes popped—not literally—but they might as well have exploded out my damn face. Three hundred years. “Three hundred years,” I screeched aloud for good measure. “Damn right that’s of further interest!”

The esteemed didn’t comment as I sat frozen, searching his expression as my mind whirled. “Why has a leader never been elected?”

His lips curved. “The second point. What you just witnessed in the tunnels between the two magus is the method our ancestors determined would settle the matter of a new coven leader. It is a game of strategy that neither side has ever won. The game itself is called Caves.”

I closed my eyes. Caves. Of course. I looked at him again to make sure Varden wasn’t roaring with laughter.

He wasn’t.

A wrinkle formed between my brows. “What does this mean? You’re a coven without a leader. Is this all you do then? Play Caves?”

“We are not a coven fully occupied with the pursuit of learning, nor of nurturing that which we’ve been granted by the mother,” he said smoothly—so smoothly I had to question if he didn’t feel very strongly on the matter. “Both sides spend a large segment of our time and energies trying to win Caves.”

“Who are the proposed leaders? Is there one for each team?”

“Throughout the centuries there has been a clear leader on each side. Currently, no, we have small groups strategizing for both sides.”

“Let me guess. You, Opal, and Birch on one side. Barrow, Winona, Delta on the other.”

His eyes twinkled. “Observant. Wild is with me also.”

Why had he mentioned Wild specifically? “Every coven member is on a side?”

“Every single one except you, Miss Corentine.”

My stomach lurched. I didn’t like his ominous tone as he’d said that. “Why hasn’t anyone won in all this time? How can a game go on for so long?”

He interlaced his hands. “Tell me, Bronte. If you cut balance in half and put the two sides on either end of a scale, what do you get?”

“Balance.”

“Naturally. When you arrived and I spoke of imbalance, I didn’t just mean in the general ways a new presence could upset the balance of a community. You present an odd number, an imbalance of power. Until your magic is tested, we cannot be sure how you will affect the game. Only that this will be the largest change in Caves since Wild joined us.”

That must be why Wild wore black instead of white.

Varden said, “That is why, as I believe you gleaned toward the end of the council meeting, your arrival generated no small degree of excitement.”

I’d noticed all right and brushed off the weirdness without further thought. A three-hundred-year-old game. I shook my head. “What’s the deal then? The opposite sides attack each other on a Thursday?”

He laughed quietly.

Yeah, this whole situation was hilarious.

“Not incorrect,” Varden mused, his lips twitching. The esteemed leaned forward. “Forgive me, Caves has always been part of my life, but this mustn’t be pleasant for you. Let me explain as best I can. On Mondays, each side receives their task for the week. They have until Wednesday to gather what they need to see that task succeed. On Thursday, if each side is in a position to do so, they attack once.”

“That’s what was happening with the two men fighting? That was one of the sides staging their attack?”

Varden dipped his head.

Forget Wild out in the hall, this was chaotic. It was crazy. And three hundred years? Mother and Grandmother never once mentioned Caves. Not so surprising from my mother, but Grandmother had seemed so open about life here, barring the reason they’d left. Why didn’t she mention it? A question formed in my head, only to be replaced by another before reaching my lips. Finally, one circled around that made sense. “What happens if a side attacks and wins the battle?”

“They are allowed to make a single move. This involves moving members of their team into different rooms in the caves.”

That cleared up just about nothing. “How does a side win?”

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