Page 57 of Dark Moon Secrets

They had to have gone now. I moved to go to the door, then froze.

Light burst in the center of the door.

“Bastard,” whispered Luna, hands up, golden magic swirling around her fingers. Luna sent a counter spell to stop whoever was coming in, but she was too late.

CHAPTER 21

Tanjie

The door swung open, banging into the side of a table, sending the collected items of crystals and glassware shaking uncontrollably. Two women stood shoulder to shoulder, expressions frowning and appearing angry as hell. Thin tendrils of magic faded from their hands.

I recognized them straightaway from the funeral—Willow, with her long, dark dreadlocks, and the younger witch, Pepper. It began to make more sense now. Of course, these women were part of the coven.

“There you are,” spoke Willow, marching inside. Pepper followed, flicking the door closed with her magic so quickly I didn’t even see the light.

I thought Willow was walking to Luna, but she came to me.

“You could’ve knocked, you know,” said Luna.

“We did. And we tried our keys, but you changed the locks and added protective spells. That wasn’t part of the deal of the girl staying here,” said Pepper.

“We wanted to see the girl,” said Willow, her voice sharp. “You can’t stop us.”

I stepped back, not liking the energy vibrating from Willow, and she was so close to me. At Maria’s funeral, she had been so supportive, now it was as if a storm raged inside her.

“You will tomorrow night,” responded Luna.

“No reason to stop us from seeing her now.”

Luna looked ready to rip them apart with the magic in her hands, but she let it disappear instead.

“I’ve got this under control,” said Luna. “Maria trusted me with this task, remember?”

“We remember, but by the looks of you, it’s not going to plan.”

“Mistakes happen when you forget to train a witch in her magic,” I interrupted. Why did I feel the need to protect Luna? She irritated me as much as these women did.

“Indeed they do,” said Willow, raising an eyebrow. “So, tell me, Tanjie, how are you feeling? Are you ready for your initiation?”

I wanted to answer yes, but my words dried on my tongue.

What did my initiation involve? Was I going to have to run around naked? Were they going to cut my hand and use drops of my blood for a spell?

The questions rolling around in my head like a tidal wave caused me to pale. I swayed. Pepper caught my arm and steadied me.

“Not told her anything then?” said Pepper.

“I would like you to leave the shop and let Tanjie rest. She has had a very long day and is exhausted,” said Luna, squaring her shoulders.

I didn’t want them to go. They may well be my chance to learn about my initiation. I’d been so caught up in my parents’ deaths and discovering I had magic that I hadn’t had an opportunity to question Luna.

“I’m pleased to meet you both,” I said. “I’ve been looking forward to properly meeting the coven’s members.”

“Which should’ve been at the initiation,” said Luna, her voice rising an octave.

“I see you’ve kept her in the dark,” said Willow.

“I didn’t want to overwhelm her.”

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