Page 109 of Kiss of Magic

“I cannot.” Lenore’s voice was heavy. “The witch part of you is gone. I can no more make you a witch than I could a blade of grass. You are a human now, Dani.”

“I can’t be,” she shouted. “I’m a witch! A witch!”

“Child. You must accept your fate with grace. After all, it’s not all bad, is it? You’re alive, for one thing.” Lenore glanced briefly in the direction Blake had gone. “I’ll wager even if you had keptyour magic, you would not have returned to the coven, would you?”

“I… well…” Dani was stung. Didn’t Lenore care? “It would have been nice to have a choice.”

“Youdohave a choice. You can come back to Montreal and remain with the coven. You know you will always have a home with us, witch or not. Or you can live your own life. A different life.”

“I… I don’t know!” Dani stared wildly. “I don’t know what to do! Tell me what to do!”

She looked pleadingly at Lenore, at the other witches, but they had no answers. Lenore took her hand.

“Darling girl. You must do what everyone does in the end, whether they’re fae, jinn, witch or human. You must listen to your heart.” She patted Dani on the shoulder. “I know you’ll make the right choice.”

Lenore nodded at the other witches. Then she held out a hand and drew on the ancient power housed within the five thousand year old monoliths of Stonehenge. Centuries of energy flooded into her flesh, her bones, her very atoms. Magic shone from her eyes and for a moment, she felt like a young woman again.

She muttered words under her breath, words designed to bend reality. Curling her fingers through the air, she traced patterns that looked meaningless but weren’t. Her magic pushed and pulled against the fabric of physics.

And suddenly a tiny dot of light appeared before her.

Coaxed by Lenore, it grew and widened until it formed a glowing archway through which could clearly be seen a battered old sofa and a carved oak coffee table.

The Angelus Coven headquarters in Montreal.

Dani knew this particular spell was difficult to master. Only the oldest and most learned of witches could do portal magic.

There were limits. Portals only worked when both ends were in the same plane. It wasn’t possible to step from the human world into Nush’aldaam, for instance. But it was impressive nonetheless, and like every young wiccan she’d hoped one day she would be powerful enough to do it.

Regret pricked at her. That was no longer an option. Not for her.

One by one her coven sisters went through the portal. Last to leave was Lenore. She glanced at Dani and raised a brow.

“Coming?”

Dani thought for a moment, then shook her head. It was only Montreal. She could change her mind later. Go the long way round if necessary.

Lenore smiled, as if she knew better.

“I thought not. Goodbye, child.”

And she was gone.

Dani stood for a moment.

Inside the henge, the absolute silence slowly lifted as the perception spell dissolved. Outside sounds began to permeate. Birdsong, insects, the distant hum of traffic.

The world was waking up. Thehumanworld.

Could she really fit in here? Without magic? Without her coven?

With Blake?

That was the question, wasn’t it?

She looked down at herself. She was still holding his long leather coat and numbly, she tugged it on. It dwarfed her. Clutching it around herself, she went in search of its owner.

Fifty Three

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