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We all held hands, sobbing and shaking, our hearts aching over her loss. Not again.

Not again.

I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m so sorry, Mercy. I am so, so sorry.” Everyone took turns kissing her head, and we sat in near silence. The only sounds were those of agony-filled weeps.

I looked up at the coven. “We’re bringing Mercy back.” I didn’t even think about my words. I knew what we had to do, but I had to convince the other three it was our duty to do it. We had to.

“What the hell are you talking about, man? She’s gone,” Ezra said. “The spell won’t work again, but we can keep looking until we find another way.”

I shook my head. “There is another way.”

Their eyes met mine, and I knew they were confused. I was the only one who knew the other way to bring her back. When I had found the spell to resurrect her twenty-two years ago, the witch who helped make the spell had used the last remaining bark of the original tree on Gallows Hill. The same tree that took the lives of our fellow Salem witches centuries ago. Once it was gone, there’d be no more left. But he explained something else to me. He explained that if this were to happen again, a sacrifice would need to be made. It was the only way to give her enough power and magic to bring her back.

“Leah, Ezra, Simon,” I said, pausing to gather the words. “Our powers are the only thing that can bring her back.”

Leah lowered her brow. “Then we join hands and conjure whatever spell we have to in order to share our powers with her. Just tell us the spell, and we’ll do it.”

I shook my head. “Sharing our powers won’t be enough.”

Simon looked up, his eyes widening. He understood.

He turned to Leah. “We have to give up our elements,” he said.

Leah’s breathing picked up the pace. “If we give up our elements, we die, Caleb.”

I nodded slowly and hesitantly; she nodded back in understanding.

“Well,” Ezra said, “we’ve lived a long life. I think I’ve done everything on my bucket list.” We chuckled quietly to ourselves, everyone shedding a tear at the realization that we were all on the same page. Spirit couldn’t be retaken from Earth, and Mercy was the only one strong enough to hold on to all five elements.

“Okay,” Leah said, wiping her eyes.

Lily and Joel stood, and we embraced them and said our goodbyes. Lily leaned toward me. “We will find a way to make this right somehow. I promise we won’t give up.”

I squeezed her hand, and the four of us gathered around Mercy’s body, kneeling. Simon gripped Leah’s hand, and Ezra grabbed mine. Dorian laid her down gently. He had been quiet the entire time as tears rolled down his face. Before he stood, he leaned closer to me and said, “Thank you.”

Dorian stood back with the others while Leah, Simon, and Ezra kneeled with me. All four of us gripped our hands together in a circle, and I chanted the spell the witch had taught me years ago. They mimicked the chant, and I felt my power as it sparked inside of me. It was more powerful than I had ever felt.

We stopped chanting, and Leah lifted her hands above her head. “I am Water. I give Spirit my power.”

Simon followed her lead. “I am Air. I give Spirit my power.”

“I am Earth. I give Spirit my power,” Ezra said.

Finally, I spoke my last words. “I am Fire. I give Spirit my power.”

As soon as the last word left my lips, we all collapsed to the ground.

… Darkness had claimed us.

CHAPTER 40

Mercy

MY EYES OPENED, and I looked at the gray clouds forming above. My eyes felt watery, and I rubbed the tears away before I sat up and saw my coven lying down on their backs, circling me on the grass.

I had seen everything. I witnessed what they did for me, and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. They couldn’t see me or hear me scream for them to let me go. I couldn’t get them to stop.

I felt the warmth of Fire, the flow of Water, the comfort of Earth, and the fresh breath of Air within me, circling my soul. They circled Spirit as if the five of us were one. My body didn’t just conjure the power; itwasthe power. All five elements were inside me.

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