Page 65 of Fallen Demon

The landscape changed slightly. The Joshua trees became bigger and closer together. Trusting my memory, I continued through the trees to where the terrain fell abruptly. About sixty feet down was what looked like an enchanted valley: green grass and colorful flowers surrounded a small wooden cottage, with a smoking chimney. All of it sheltered by a thick line of full green trees.

“We’re here,” I whispered.

A woman with long, black hair tied in a loose braid walked out of the cottage, a washcloth in her hands.

She looked up, directly at me. “I’ve been expecting you.”

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My friends staredat the woman.

“Come on,” I said, showing them the hidden path along the hill. They followed me silently.

The woman waited for us at the bottom of the stairs.

“Sorry it took me so long,” I said.

“Nonsense.” She waved me off. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She opened her arms and embraced me. “How have you been?”

“Not so great,” I said, hugging her back. In a way, being here, seeing her again, it brought so many emotions, so many memories I had tried to forget. I pulled back, cleared my throat, and turned to my friends. “Guys, this is Topaz.”

“Hello there,” Topaz said with a small smile, showing off how her bright white teeth contrasted with her smooth, light brown skin.

Wyatt sniffed the air. “You’re a witch.”

Topaz nodded. “You’re right, young man.”

Though she looked like was she was forty, Topaz was actually over eighty years old. That happened to most witches, and from the little I knew, she was a powerful one. And for some reason she never disclosed to me, she had been living quietly in the Fort Mojave Reservation for at least a decade.

Lacey pushed through our friends until she was standing just two feet from Topaz. “I know you.”

Topaz’s face paled. “Lacey,” she whispered.

I stared from one to the other. “Wait. What’s going on?”

“Topaz is from my coven,” Lacey said, her wide eyes fixed on the witch.

And the way she said Topaz wasn’t lost on me. I kind of figured that a person in hiding would change her name. I mean, even I had changed my name for a while.

“And what coven is that?” Ava asked. She knew that so far Lacey hadn’t revealed anything about her coven to me or the others. Only Levi knew to which coven she belonged.

“I thought you were dead,” Lacey said, her tone flat. Slowly her eyes went from wide to narrowed, and her surprised features changed to … was that anger?

“I—” Topaz started.

“Never mind,” Lacey snapped, cutting the older woman off. “We’re here for a reason.” She nodded to me, telling me to go on.

With what?

Did she want me to ignore her animosity? I looked from Lacey to Topaz, the wildest ideas crossing my mind. I remembered Levi telling me Lacey’s mother had died when she was young, and now Lacey said she thought Topaz was dead and she clearly wasn’t.

But that was ridiculous. Right?

Well, after finding out Ylena was Levi’s mother, I didn’t doubt anything anymore.

However, right at this moment, Lacey didn’t seem to want to dwell on it. She crossed her arms, huffed, and jerked her chin at me, as if telling me to hurry up.

Okay then.

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