Page 67 of Calling Quarters

“Where’s the fire?” Blaire asked, tilting her head quizzically.

“She did it,” Tabitha breathed out. She hung her head and allowed herself a moment to feel the same silent relief that I had at that revelation.

She did it.

But where was she?

Enzo pointed to a large pile sitting off to the side. That must have been where they had her slung up. My feet were taking me there before any rational thought could stop me. I opted to take the heavily wooded area surrounding the clearing instead of exposing myself to whoever was lingering about. Halfway there, something reached out to my left shoulder and hissed.

“Remy,” her broken voice called out.

I turned and watched as she fell onto her knees. Despite the darkness surrounding us, I could see her clear as day. Her skin appeared to be glowing and I wasted no time kneeling before her and taking in her ragged appearance.

Officer Abbot was sitting on the ground behind her. He had been supporting her weight and attempting to wrap bandages from his first aid kit around her arms.

Dried, brown blood was caked all over her skin, concentrated in certain areas of her arms and legs where she appeared to have been cut. I couldn’t make out the symbols they formed before our touch began healing them. Officer Abbot's eyes widened, and he leaned backward, shifting his weight so he could stand before us.

“Thank gods you're here,” he breathed, bowing his head to Tabitha and Blaire.

“Where is Rayner?” Tabitha’s gravelly voice asked from somewhere behind me.

Storie’s heavy breathing filled the thick silence as we all waited for their answer.

“I only got here at the end of it,” Abbot began quietly. He looked out at the small crowd of people that lingered behind and dropped his voice even lower. “I heard about something going on in the woods and that he'd taken her. I couldn't stand by while another Graves was harmed by Rayner's agenda. By the time I got here, the fire was gone, and she was just getting out of her restraints. I brought her over here out of sight to tend to her wounds.”

I never looked away from Storie. My hands remained on her while he spoke, and she allowed my touch to heal her more before attempting to move or speak again.

Her legs pushed off the ground once they were strong enough to hold her and propelled her into me. Soft arms wrapped themselves around my neck as she buried her face into my chest, breathing me in. My own arms held her tight while I did the same.

Finally, she turned her head toward our audience and rasped, “He ran.”

Epilogue

Storie

The weeks following Rayner's bonfire were a frenzied blur. He managed to somehow disappear into the wind that night, and no one had heard from or seen him since.

His actions divided Beacon Grove into two separate sides, although most who followed the Movement had quickly shifted their loyalty back to the Quarters once news got out about the fateful events that happened. In the days after, the most loyal Movement members were taken in and questioned regarding everything they knew about the man who led them, including those who were confirmed to have been present for the bonfire. No one knew where he had gone, and if they did, they weren’t sharing. The police had no choice but to let everyone go and allow the town to come together and attempt to find some semblance of normalcy.

Remy and the other Quarters returned to their homes early that morning. They each confronted their fathers about the lies they’ve been fed about their gifts and bravely reclaimed their roles as Quarters of their coven. Some resisted, like Remy’s father, but even in their weakened state, they were no match to their sons. It was as Tabitha had said before; nature liked balance. It didn’t reward those who tried to manipulate their way around it. And the elders certainly made every attempt to manipulate the natural order of things.

Since I was able to personally identify Silas as an active part of the Movement and the bonfire was held on his property, he was immediately stripped of his title as Watchtower High Priest and placed on house arrest. In a town full of magic and angry witches, that was a little different than anything I'd seen in the past.

Rhyse had him thrown into the cellars below their house and imprisoned him there with various incantations that Tabitha guided him through until they could come up with a proper punishment. They found his Counter down in the cellars as well, and it turns out that Rayner's crazy ramblings that night were correct—his brother had been taken from his family and forced to spend his life as a prisoner, feeding Silas his powers any time he needed them.

I learned that my parents were correct when they insisted I was already a part of the Watchtower coven. Now that everyone knew I was a Counter, they had no choice but to allow me in without initiation, and I had no choice but to accept. It would take a while for me to heal from what some of them had done to me when they were following Rayner, but it was nice to be a part of a community after a lifetime of missing that.

Once I recovered, Remy and I were able to remove the black magic spell that Rayner allowed to fester and grow for nearly two months. It had taken us a few long hours and a lot of guidance from Tabitha—who was not the most patient teacher—but we managed to disassemble the dark cloud lingering over Beacon Grove and release its inhabitants from the control it had over their minds and moods. The shift was instantaneous for Rhyse, Enzo, and Lux, who were finally able to access their gifts again.

Tabitha, Blaire, and Callista were still battling the tarnished reputation their family had suffered from helping Counters all those years ago, though they were welcomed amongst the coven members more easily with the knowledge that they were friends of the Quarters. The others attempted to force Tabitha to identify their Counters, but she adamantly refused, explaining that it wasn’t her place as that wasn’t how nature intended for them to be reunited. The argument continued each time they were in the same room as the other, which happened more often as the coven attempted to right themselves after the fall of their High Priest, and the Quarters vowed to attend every meeting.

“Is this everything?” Remy asked, holding up the last of my belongings that were scattered around Blaire’s room.

I decided to make my stay in Beacon Grove indefinite now that I had managed to form my own little dysfunctional family here. There wasn't much for me in the real world anymore and being here made me feel closer to the people I missed the most. I also had this overwhelming feeling that I still had a lot to learn about the people and place I came from.

Beacon Grove wasn't going to share its secrets with me easily, though. This place doesn't follow the same rules as the rest of the world. That much was obvious.

Remy refused to allow me to rent a home downtown when I brought it up with him.

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