It's what she’d always said about the Tower. It was one of her favorite cards—never mind the sudden, shocking pain the Tower typically heralded. Sophie was all about the aftermath. The inevitable fresh start that came when everything you’d once held so dearly crumbled down around you.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the imagery of the card. From the depths of a black sky, the moon shot a bright beam of light into a massive brick tower, smashing the top to bits. People jumped from the highest windows to avoid the devastation; one man already lay bent and broken on the ground.
“Something bad is coming, isn't it?” I whispered.
“Something big, that’s for sure.” Sophie shrugged. “Bad is relative.”
“You sense this? I mean, you did? Before?”
Sophie nodded. “I think you sense it, too.”
She was right. Even before the incident with the man in the alley, something had been feeling… off. Like the calm before the storm, as cliché as that sounded.
And something told me that Bean’s resurrection, Sophie's murder, and Death’s arrival were still just parts of that calm—that the real stormy shit hadn’t even hit the fan yet.
“Draw another card,” I said.
The Magician appeared next, and Sophie covered him crosswise with the reversed King of Swords. Normally I liked the King—he often showed up when I was feeling sorry for myself and needed a reminder that I had the power to kick life in the ass. But the reversal gave him a sinister cast, one that spoke of madness, brutality, and domination. With the tyrant King covering the Magician, there was no mistaking the message.
Hunters.
I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to remind myself that I wasn't alone in this. That I had Ronan. Darius. Asher. That despite Norah’s threats, Haley and some of the others might come around, too.
Assuming I could get close to them again. Assuming I even wanted to—jury was still out on that.
“Hunters have been quiet for too long.” Sophie traced her fingers over the King’s sword. A menacing imp with sharp teeth and even sharper claws sat at the King’s feet, clutching the entire earth in his talons. “The witches believe we're on the verge of another Great Hunt.”
“Norah too?”
“Norah prefers to keep her head in the sand.” Sophie's eyes darkened. “She can't be trusted, Gray.”
Sophie turned over another card—the High Priestess—but she was reversed like the King of Swords.
“Haley and I found out that some of the underground covens back east had been in touch with Norah, trying to share information and unify against the threat. They're all feeling it, Gray. One of the Boston leaders said that the same ripples we're feeling here are stirring up groups in Europe and Southeast Asia, even as far away as Australia. They’re all trying to reconnect, but it’s hard because there’s still a lot of mistrust and fear.”
“Are you serious?”
The covens are talking about unifying?
If that were true, it was major news. Witches had gone their separate ways decades ago in hopes of avoiding detection by the Hunters, who at that time had grown extremely powerful. Splinter groups remained—like the Bay Coven—but mostly operated underground. These days, an attack on one witch by a single hunter was enough to send the stragglers back into the shadows.
And after a generation with everyone doing their own thing, trying to unite them under a single purpose seemed like an impossible task.
“Some of them are trying to figure it out," Sophie said. “The stronger, more established groups believe it's time for the witches to rise up again, to come out of the broom closet and take on the Hunters once and for all. But Norah wants no part of it. When Haley and I confronted her about keeping her communications with the other groups secret, she freaked. She forbid us from getting in touch with anyone outside Bay Coven. She said if she found out anyone had gone against her rule, she’d bind our magic.”
“Holy shit. Can she even do that?”
“Does she have the authority? Well, there's no one to stop her. Whether she has the juice for it is another question, but none of us wanted to test it.”
“How could you even stand to be around her?” I shook my head, trying to clear the memories of yesterday’s disastrous confrontation with Norah. “How could you put yourself in danger like that? You should’ve—”
You should’ve told me,I wanted to say. But of course she’d tried to tell me. Tried to get me involved, to get my help.
“I’m sorry,” I said instead. “I should’ve listened to you.”
“You didn’t know, Gray.” Sophie reached over the cards and grabbed my hand, squeezing it fiercely. “Just… Stay off Norah’s radar. You need to be prepared for whatever's coming, and you can't do it with Norah on your ass. The only one you can trust for sure is Haley, and maybe Reva, but she’s pretty new. The others are alright, but some of them still think the sun rises and sets on Norah’s face.”
“Do you really think the hunters are coming?” I asked.
