Page 20 of Calling Quarters

Mayor Douglas slammed his gavel three times to silence the frenzied crowd before us. Nearly one hundred pairs of eyes turned our way, each one looking more frightened than the next.

“We've called this emergency meeting to order to discuss the night's events,” the mayor called out to the crowd of people, his voice maintaining its usual official tone, although he looked just as ragged and worn as the rest of us.

A few people shouted out insults at the Quarters, insisting it was our fault a darkness was able to get through and poison the town. The mayor fought to keep them quiet, but his shouts and the slamming of his gavel only riled them up more. We were forced to sit and absorb the slew of verbal abuse that was flung our way until Silas lifted his hand to quiet them, and everyone stopped talking at once.

“Thank you, High Priest,” Mayor Douglas sighed. His face was covered in a shiny layer of sweat and had taken on the brightest shade of red I'd ever seen in a human's skin tone.

“We need answers, Silas,” Rayner shouted across the sea of faces. The crowd parted as he worked his way to the front until he was nearly standing on the stage with us.

“That's what we're here for,” Silas' bored tone responded.

“Yet, none of these boys have offered their explanations.” Rayner lifted his arm in our direction incredulously.

Still, the Quarters stayed quiet.

“Sit down, Rayner,” Mayor Douglas demanded, his usual cloak of calmness slowly coming undone.

“I'm sorry, Mayor, but I think I and everyone else agree that it's time for change,” Rayner's deep voice bellowed over the crowd when he turned to speak directly at them. “Our town and our coven deserve better.”

A few grunts of agreement encouraged him to continue. I attempted finding who they came from and fell short. At this point, after what just happened, any one of these people could have been working against us.

No one was to be trusted.

“We've allowed these families to capitalize on our fear. They've been given the highest ranks in our coven since its conception, received praise and gifts for doing a job that any one of us could do…”

A few audible gasps give him pause. He turned his shoulders to address his peers, his back facing us and Mayor Douglas.

“Am I wrong? Have we been convinced that our own abilities are that much less than those of young boys?”

“The Quarters were given their gifts from the gods themselves. You have no right to suggest you're their equal,” Mayor Douglas argued.

“Then what happened tonight? Why were their powers so weak, they couldn't handle a simple Mabon celebration? How long are we going to risk our lives by putting all of our trust into these families when they've shown us time and time again that they can no longer handle it?”

Rhyse shifted in his chair beside me, and Lux placed his hand on his arm to try to settle him. We were exhausted beyond belief, hardly able to keep our heads up. There was no way we'd be able to handle a brawl if Rhyse said the wrong thing while tensions were already high. Our coven was scared, and it was our fault. We just needed to hear them out and get some rest so we could figure out what the hell went wrong today.

“This isn't constructive. We're here to find out what happened,” my father piped in. I was surprised he'd allowed Rayner to go on as long as he had. He was usually the most protective over the Quarter name.

“What happened was we trusted your sons to keep us safe and they've failed us. A darkness was able to get through what should have been an impenetrable shield. At least, that's what you Quarters have always claimed.” Rayner's disdain was obvious in his tone. He never respected the Quarters—not since what he witnessed our grandfathers do to his family.

He had never been an issue until now. There were rumors floating around of an uprising for a few years. We brought it to our fathers’ attention in fear of the coven finding out that our powers were fading, and they blew it off, refusing to believe anyone would go against us. Now, it was clear what was happening, and Rayner appeared to be at the head of it. We couldn't make it obvious that we felt threatened by them, though. That would only fuel their fire.

“The Quarter shield is stronger than any sort of protection spell you could attempt to cast. You have no right speaking against us when it is our protection that has ensured your safety and comfort while practicing whatever magic it is you've taken up to these days. You'd be smart to remember your place.” My father's patience was wearing thin.

“I'm speaking as a concerned member of this coven. What ever happened to this being a democracy? Or are we not allowed to speak against our leaders when they've wronged us?”

“We never wronged you,” Rhyse answered. His cheeks were now the same dark shade of red as the blood vessels that were glowing in the whites of his eyes.

“Then what would you call your little blunder?” Rayner taunted, a cocky smile turning up on his lips.

He'd finally gotten what he wanted all along: a reaction from one of us.

Lux attempted to calm Rhyse once again, but it was no use. This whole meeting was going nowhere.

“I'd call it sabotage. Someone broke the bylaws and was practicing dark magic within our shield. If anyone should be up here answering to the coven, it should be those who are actively working against us.”

A few people gasped and Rayner rolled his eyes with a condescending chuckle. “I don't know what you're alluding to.”

“Okay, that's enough,” Mayor Douglas cut in before Rhyse could retort. A sigh of relief was heard across the entire crowd. “This meeting was organized to find answers, though that doesn't appear to be happening anymore. I think our High Priest would agree that we could use some rest before we continue this conversation any further.” He looked to Silas for confirmation and received a stiff nod.

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