Page 1 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

Chapter One

Freya

“Cadence,” I said with false authority. “Help Thea sprout roses, hydrangeas, and irises. Three of each.”

Much to my relief, my dark-haired friend did not argue and neither did Cadence. Thea took the shaking girl’s hand and led her aside to do as I asked. I didn’t move from where I crouched beside my fallen cowboy. Gloria looked on the verge of killing me, but she kept her mouth shut. Walker had gotten to her too with his goddessdamned goodness. The old witch couldn’t find it in herself to stop me.

“Mable,” I addressed another Elder. She adjusted her long, white braid and honed her glacier gaze on mine. “I’ll need raven’s feathers too. And a snake’s shed skin. And…”

As my gaze caught on Walker’s pale form, he eclipsed my thoughts. He laid across a small patch of earth not scorched by my fire. Only moments ago, I had unleashed my rage upon the dark witches and vampires who dared to fight after Josephine’s death. Luckily, my coven members had portaled themselves and our werewolf allies out of harm’s way.

Those who had been too stupid or too slow to flee were now ash on the wind. Blackened grass stretched from Walker’s front porch to the woods that bordered the Reids’ property, and the creaky, old gate that was always left open.

“A butterfly’s cocoon,” Gloria said. “Well, three of them. Three of everything.”

Lyra stepped forward and crouched beside me. Her plum, velvet robes pooled around her. She reached for my hand, which still clutched Walker’s cold one. I raised my chin.

“The High Witch did not save us,” I said. “Idid—the Heir of your coven did. I saved you when I could have ran, just as I saved Walker when I could’ve killed him. Had I not, Josephine would’ve killed another young witch, all while the High Witch didnothing.”

I took a steadying breath. “Follow me now. Follow me because I have always followed you, but now it’s time for me to lead.Please.I know in my Goddess-given heart we have to save him.”

Lyra stared at me a second longer then dropped her hand and stood. For a heartbeat, I didn’t know if she was going to portal away or concede to help.

“You’ll need witch blood as well,” Lyra finally said.

Relief bloomed in my heart, but it was short-lived. An impossible task still loomed before me, but it was more surmountable with my coven at my back. More and more witches portaled back to the Reids’ property to help. While they summoned plant-life and other ingredients, I unsheathed a dagger from my thigh and slit my palm. The crimson line that welled matched the rest of the cuts and scuffs on my body, and I was so focused, it barely stung.

Going on a vague memory of Marie Laveau, knowledge of general transformation magic, and instinct alone, I squeezed a drop of my blood onto Walker’s forehead, directly betweenhis eyes. I released another drop across his lips. With my unwounded hand, I unbuttoned his leather vest and tore a hole through the shirt beneath it. I dropped another speckle of blood directly over his heart and tried to ignore how his chest failed to rise and fall.

As the seconds passed, the Blood Moon lightened the sky. Without its power, the spell would never work.

It probably won’t work anyway.

I blocked out the thought. I didn’t have room in my head for doubts.

Luckily, my coven members finished summoning the ingredients and laid them around Walker in groupings of three. As Walker was covered in flowers, skins, and cocoons, I had an epiphany.

“Cadence,” I said.

The twelve-year-old girl stared at her brother with anguish lining her face. When she finally met my gaze, I forced myself not to look away from her vividly green eyes, which so closely resembled Josephine’s. Cady tucked her brown hair behind her ear and waited for me to speak.

“We need three things to tether Walker to himself,” I said. “His hat will work as one…”

Cadence thought to herself for a moment then jetted toward the Reids’ house. None of my coven members spoke about my twist on the transformation spell, but Gloria nodded in silent approval. Though it probably only took Cadence two minutes to return from the house, it felt like hours.

She carried a well-worn children’s book in one hand and a lock of coarse hair in the other. She laid the book by Walker’s side and placed the lock of hair on his other side.

“His favorite book as a kid,” Cadence explained. “He told me Mom would read it to him every night. And I always thoughtthe hair was kinda creepy, but it’s a lock of his first horse’s tail. He loved that guy almost as he much as he loves me.”

I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and nodded. All the ingredients were gathered. It was time to bring back the cowboy who had so foolishly died for me.

It was time to perform the spell.

You don’t even know what the spell is.

I blocked out the thoughts bubbling over from the most insecure corners of my mind. Witches were always tweaking spells to make them their own, which was essentially creating new spells. The way I transformed water into ice wasn’t the exact way Thea did it. Every witch was different, and every witch was capable of what they believed they could do.

I am the Heir to the Coven of Hecate.

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