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CHAPTER 1
Ruby
When most peoplethought of Salem, Massachusetts, they thought of witches. But the first thing that popped into my head was werewolves. And I’d been a witch all my life.
I folded the Salem Broom Company T-shirt and laid it on top of the stack as the cold spring rain poured from the sky outside, pelting the storefront window of the Crow’s Nest. This was the off-season for our little town, and a rainy day made it even quieter.
I checked the clock. Lillian should’ve been back by now.
Lillian Baer owned the Crow’s Nest, a metaphysical store on historic Essex Street. I’d worked here for the past five years, ever since I’d rejoined the Coven of Light after trying to lead a more mundane life without magic at Boston University. Lillian also led the coven, and recently, had selected me to be her successor.
The irony didn’t escape me that our coven operated right out in the open in the heart of the same town that killed my ancestors for witchcraft.
I was one of the few members of the Coven of Light that could trace my family line back to one of Salem’s founding families. Three of the daughters of William and Joanna Towne had been arrested for witchcraft. Rebecca Nurse and Mary Eastley hadn’t even been witches. I descended from their sister, Sarah Cloyce, who had been arrested, but escaped the hangman’s noose. By a strange twist of fate, she had been the only one with true magic in her veins, although there were no records that she’d ever learned to use it.
The bell on the back door jingled. “Ruby?”
Lillian was in her eighties now, but her voice was still as pure as a wind chime without any sign of a wobble.
“I’m in the front,” I called, breathing a sigh of relief that Lillian was okay. I worried about her driving in bad weather. I couldn’t help it. After the fire that killed my parents, I didn’t take a single day for granted.
The back of the store had a meeting room and two smaller psychic-reading rooms. Some of our members were gifted in delivering messages to the tourists who visited our city. Most of the profits from the Crow’s Nest went directly back into the coven’s treasury to be used for supplies for rituals and spells, as well as to help any members who might need it.
Lillian came through the velvet curtain dividing the retail space from the meeting space and smiled. She wore a violet sheath dress with a fine silver chain clipped around her waist like a belt. Her long silver hair was up in a bun today, highlighting her slender neck. She’d never been married, but she was nothing like the old spinsters portrayed in movies. She practically glowed with a sensual vitality that attracted attention. She often enjoyed the company of men; she just chose not to marry any of them. These days she seemed to have the old werewolf Alpha on her arm most of the time.
I stacked the shirt on the display table and headed for the register. “It’s really pouring out there.”
Concern lined her face as she met my eyes. “There’s no time to talk about the weather.” She scanned the store before adding, “The hunters are back. Mathias was attacked last night.”
I was no fan of werewolves, but Mathias Munro had always been kind to me, and it was obvious he cared for Lillian. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure of the details.” She sighed and put her satchel purse on the counter. “Last night, after our coven finished the full moon ritual and everyone went home, I heard the pack howling in the woods. As I placed my crystals on the windowsill to charge their energy in the moonlight, there was a terrible cry.” She shuddered. “I cast a sensory spell to detect magic, and…” Her dark-brown eyes met mine. “You were right, Ruby. The Coven of Shadows is still conjuring. The remnants of dark magic were all over the woods.”
My fingers trembled at my sides, and sparks lit the edge of my vision. No. Not now. Clairvoyance was one of my “gifts,” but lately the images were filled with blood and foreboding. I kept seeing a red wolf chained to a sacrificial altar. I’d been having the same dream ever since the werewolf hunters had started killing werewolves for their body parts.
I clenched my fists tightly, blinking away the encroaching glimpse into the future. Although my mother had been an earth witch with gifts that leaned toward healing herbs and material magics, I’d been born a water witch. My magic was connected to the heart and influenced by emotions. And when I was stressed, it sometimes opened the doors to visions of the future while I was awake, too.
They seemed to be intruding more every day.
Recently a couple of members of the Salem wolf pack had been killed during the full moon, and their wolf bodies had been dismembered. We suspected someone was selling the remains. The rarity of a werewolf paw, or ear, or almost any other body part would supercharge any dark magic.
And people were willing to pay a high price for that kind of power.
Lillian placed a hand on my shoulder. “If the Universe is sending you a vision, it’s best not to block it.”
I forced a weak smile. “If Ineverhave another vision of someone carving up a dead werewolf again, it would be too soon.”
“Maybe you would be able to see the hunter’s face.”
I shook my head. “I guess that would be useful, but otherwise…no, thank you.”
Her lips quivered as if she could barely hold back a grin. “Stubborn girl.”
“I don’t want the Universe to think my mind has an open-door policy.” A headache was brewing, but at least the vision had retreated. “You’re the one always telling me about the importance of boundaries.”
She dropped her hand to her side. “A vision could show you our enemies, or give us an idea of Mathias’s condition after the attack last night. We need every advantage.” She searched my eyes. “I don’t mean to pressure you, but if we don’t stop these hunters, I fear the Coven of Shadows will drag us into a war we’re not prepared for.”
And byweshe meantme. I was her apprentice, second in line to lead the Coven of Light. Lillian had planned to retire from her leadership position last year, but after the murder of the two werewolves and the rise of dark magic in New England, she was hesitant to turn over the reins to a new high priestess.
