Page 57 of Calling Quarters

When I took a moment to breathe, I noticed the hurt lacing their expressions for the first time. My lack of trust in their ability to listen to me without making a snap judgement crushed them. I knew because that's exactly how I'd feel if the roles were reversed. All this time, I had convinced myself I was only hiding her from them to protect her life, but I think it went beyond that. I didn't want to share her because I was too selfish to consider the possibility that if they knew about their Counters sooner, they wouldn't have lost so much of their magic.

“You could have told us. We don’t do secrets, remember?” Lux’s glum tone only deepened the knife of guilt twisting in my gut.

“I didn’t do it to hurt you,” I insisted earnestly.

“This is sweet, but we need to move on. The sun is setting, and this place isn’t going to fix itself up,” Blaire interrupted.

I’m not sure what her angle was on helping us out to this cabin and making it a livable place to stay. Grangers have never concerned themselves with anyone else’s problems unless there was something in it for them. I was sure there would be a catch somewhere along the line involving her and Tabitha, but we didn’t have much of a choice but to go along with it. Our fathers have proven to be consorting with the enemy and our coven was now actively working against us.

It took more effort than we’d like to admit, but we were able to use the small amount of magic we had left to clear away the garbage and hazardous materials, fix up the areas that needed immediate attention, and lift a half-hearted invisibility spell to hide the cabin from anyone who might stumble out here. Most of the heavy lifting came from mine and Storie’s shared gifts and Blaire’s deep knowledge of spellwork.

We didn't finish until well into the following morning. Storie and Blaire chose to sleep at the cabin with us instead of risking the pitch-black woods so deep into the night. Storie fell asleep curled into my chest, and even though the others might not trust me after lying to them, it felt good to share her with them. To hold her out in the open and have the weight of our secretive relationship lifted from my shoulders.

We all awoke with the sun the next morning. The small break in trees overhead allowed light to shine directly onto us through the fogged-up windows. My eyes cracked open to find those beautiful lilacs gazing back at me. A satisfied smile spread across her lips and just as she leaned into me for a kiss, Blaire declared it was time for them to go before Tabitha slaughtered them.

Storie agreed to return with the list of groceries we came up with and then they were gone, trekking back through the woods to a town that no longer accepted us.

Chapter 32

Remy

Samhain is traditionally a time of year for the coven to come together and take advantage of the veil between worlds thinning by honoring those who have passed. It’s the midpoint between the fall and winter solstices and marks the time where night grows longer than day. Candles are lit, photos are set out, and prayers are made to loved ones who have crossed over.

The Watchers of the west have always drawn some of their magic from the spirit world, so Samhain is the most powerful time of year for the Wildes family. With the veil thinned, even those who haven’t mastered the spirit world are able to access and draw from it. In past generations, our ancestors would connect coven members with their loved ones and relay messages as a thank you for their support of us throughout the year. That tradition ended with my grandfather, as he was never truly welcomed into the underworld.

I was explaining this to Storie in the cabin the day before Samhain was set to begin. Lux was on the floor, attempting to read through the Book of Shadows in the dim candlelight, letting out occasional grunts of frustration as he ripped entire pages of notes out of his notebook and crumpled them up before adding them to the growing discard pile. Rhyse and Enzo were lounging on the couches, occasionally offering their input on our puzzling history.

“So, with this veil being lifted, spirits are able to exist closer to us,” Storie deduced, tracing her finger on the wood grain of the old table. I nodded my response.

“Then, why don’t you try to talk to your Quarter ancestors and see if they’ll help you?”

Lux lifted his head from the book for the first time in hours, gaping at her.

“We’ve never considered that,” I admitted, throwing Lux a look of disbelief.

Howhad we never thought of that before?

“Well, I know if I had the ability to speak to my family and have my questions answered, I’d jump at the opportunity.” She dropped her gaze down to her hands and sagged her shoulders dejectedly.

“Let’s try it, then. We can call your parents forward, and then try to reach one of our great grandparents. I’m sure Lux can come up with a few trustworthy, pure souls to call forward. They can’t all be corrupt assholes.”

Storie perked up immediately. I wasn’t positive if I could contact spirits the same way my family had all those years ago without any practice, but the warm, wholesome smile that spread across her face was enough motivation for me to figure it out.

“Are you sure we should be wasting time talking to mommy and daddy when there’s a real and dangerous threat to the town and coven that needs to be stopped?” Rhyse asked spitefully.

He still wasn’t over the fact that I hid Storie from them and he’d been rude toward her each time she came to the cabin to give us updates and deliver food.

“Don’t be a dick, Rhyse,” Lux scolded without lifting his nose from the floor.

“He’s probably right. We can always talk to them another time,” Storie conceded, her mood dropping once again.

“No. The only reason you’re here is to find answers about what happened to them. I think you’ve done enough for us to earn a simple conversation with the people who sacrificed their lives for you. We should have time to do both.”

I shot Rhyse a warning glare, letting him know he needed to back off her, but he never bothered looking back at me to witness it.

“It’ll take me some time to get a list together of people I think we can actually trust. Turns out, the Quarters have never been the most upstanding individuals,” Lux said on a sigh.

My hand covered Storie’s on the table and squeezed so she would lift her eyes to mine. When she finally did, I stood and cocked my head toward the door, letting her know I wanted to go outside. The sun was setting overhead, though the canopy of trees never really gave it’s rays the opportunity to reach us. It was just light enough to see her in front of me, but dark enough where if anyone tried to watch us out the window, they’d barely make out our silhouettes.

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