Page 52 of Calling Quarters

Mayor Douglas has officially announced that all celebrations for Samhain are cancelled. Anyone who attempts to use magic on the night of October 31st will be subject to fines.

For those unaware, Samhain is a holiday celebrated directly in between the autumn and winter solstices to mark the beginning of the darkest part of the year. Ironically, this festival falls during one of Beacon Grove’s most historically dark times. Some even claim that if you look up at the sky, you can literally see a cloud of black magic looming just above our beloved town.

This news comes as another blow to morale after Beacon Grove’s Mabon celebration was cancelled just over a month ago.

“This news saddens me as this was an extremely difficult decision to make. Safety remains our number-one priority,” Mayor Douglas said in his most recent emergency meeting. Some townspeople remain bullish about the holiday, though, claiming that politics should not get in the way of any more traditions.

“Samhain is the time I get to honor my mother who passed away two years ago. It’s when I feel her presence around me the strongest, and I’m not willing to give that up over a silly feud between our town and coven leaders,” Beacon Grove local and boutique shop owner, Hazel Rubio, commented when asked on her way out of the meeting.

Others are more willing to comply with the mayor's newest orders, deciding to forgo this year's celebrations and begin moving onto those for the next wheel of the year. Andrew Hart comments, “We, as a community, are going forward. I am now focused on making Yule an event to remember for years to come.”

Chapter 29

Storie

The announcement of Samhain being canceled created an even greater shift in the town’s mood. Before, they’d been morose and gloomy. Now, they were angry.

They took their frustrations out on each other, constantly getting into small tiffs with anyone who appeared to look at them the wrong way. I saw it in line at The Grind when the barista got an order wrong, at the diner when Blaire and I met for lunch, and even at the library when I’d stopped in to do some digging on Lunet’s family.

The one thing they all seemed to agree on was that this was all the Quarters’ fault.

Each day, Rayner’s movement gained more followers as people grew tired of the lack of communication coming from their coven’s High Priest. It was almost as if the elder Quarters had intended for this to happen. That they wanted the town to rally against their sons and put their lives in danger so that they could swoop in and save the day.

The problem was, they never swooped. It's been weeks since Remy and the others were welcomed into town. They were forced to hide away in their homes and avoid contact with anyone outside of their trusted circles.

In the short moments when Remy would talk openly about the issue, he told me that their fathers expected to gain their gift back as the rest of the Quarters lost theirs. Evidently, that hadn’t happened yet, and the Quarters blamed their Counters for it.

“I have to ask you for an incredibly difficult favor,” he began one day.

He had been exceptionally glum and more distracted than usual, but I knew better than to ask him about it before he was ready.

“I need to get into Tabitha’s study.”

“Okay. How am I supposed to help you with that?”

“You’ve been in that room before. It’s likely protected with dozens of spells to shield it from just anyone getting in. But once you’ve been through those spells, the room is available to you any time, even without her,” he explained patiently.

I thought about what he was asking me to do. He was right, it was incredibly difficult, and I was angry at him for even putting me in the position of telling him no. But I had to. There was no way I could do that to the Grangers after all they’ve done for me.

My head moved in a negative shake. “I’m sorry. I can’t betray her like that. She’s like my family.”

Remy released a loud, frustrated growl, standing from his bed to pace the floor and put distance between us. “I would do it myself, but she’s probably got specific spells lifted against us. Especially if she’s hiding the information we think she is. This is our last hope. You’re all we’ve got.”

“Don’t try to put this on me. If you think she has the answer to fixing this mess, I doubt she’d deny you. She wants this to be over just as bad as the rest of us. Just ask her.”

The muscles in his neck flexed and his hands balled into fists. “You don’t understand. The Grangers have been accused of working against the Quarters for decades. If she’s in possession of this book, it’s because shestoleit from us. We can’t simply ask her to give up all the information she has on us. She’d never do it.” His fists moved up from his sides to work against his scalp, mussing up his jet-black hair.

“So, you want to steal it from her? Is that any better than what you accuse her of?”

“Stop being so naive. There is no right and wrong here anymore, Storie. It’s about survival, and we’re not going to survive much longer if we can’t get our hands on this book and find the truth that no one wants to share. She isn’t your family. You don’t have a family because of this, remember?”

I couldn’t stop the gasp that left my lips at his crass words. I watched him in disbelief as he spun his body around and stared out the balcony doors with his back to me while he gained his composure.

After a few moments, he returned to the room and kneeled down onto the floor before me, gently taking my hands into his.

“I have this obligation to the Quarters. To my coven. I was born into this role and given these gifts without anyone asking if it was what I wanted, and I’ve felt trapped under the weight of responsibility since birth. But you should know that you’re so much more important than any of it. I’d give my soul for you and burn through a thousand lifetimes in Hell as punishment. I never want you to feel like I’ve forced you into anything against your will. To feel even a sliver of the misery that I’ve grown comfortable with.”

The golden flecks in his eyes shined against the shadows of his black irises. He was looking at me with such devotion, his words rooted from someplace deep inside his soul. I could tell it took great effort for him to admit all of that. To confess that he was willing to betray everything he’s ever known for me. To reveal this weaker side of him that struggled with the tasks he was given. To profess such deep, unfamiliar feelings to me.

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