AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kerri, you should take a little time to—” Rhi began.
“Why? What other conclusion could I possibly come to in an hour or a day or a week?” my mom asked. “We all know that I’m the loose cannon here. Oh, you’re all making a fine show of pretending that any of us might refuse, but I’d appreciate if we could end that pretense now. There was never any doubt that Rhi and Persi would renew the Covenant, even if they had no idea it existed. I’m the one everybody’s worried about, the prodigal daughter who’s destined to screw everything up, and land the entire town in danger. So, let me put everyone’s minds at ease now. I’ll stay.”
A moment of silence, and then, “Is that truly your choice?” Xiomara asked.
My mom laughed bitterly. “There was never a choice. Let’s all stop pretending that there ever was. Some of you may have come to the opinion over the last few years I’ve been gone that I’m heartless and selfish—an ungrateful daughter of the Cove. I’m not. I only ever wanted to protect my kid, and I don’t regret it. But now it sounds like the only way to protect her—and the rest of us—is to stay, so yes. I agree. The Covenant of the Three will be renewed and the binding of the Darkness will remain unbroken. But on one condition.”
“And that condition is…?” Ostara asked, her tone guarded.
“I refuse to do the same to Wren that Asteria has done to me. We are the last generation to be bound by this Covenant. It ends with us. My sisters and I will renew it, and then the Conclave will find a new way to protect this town—one that doesn’t require my daughter to sacrifice her future.”
There was silence as these words settled for a few seconds before Ostara spoke. When she did, there was a badly-suppressed note of triumph in her voice.
“Very well. I would like to make a motion for the Conclave to vote on Kerridwen’s proposal.”
A moment, and then, “Seconded,” came Davina’s voice.
“All in favor?” Ostara asked.
We could not see the hands that were raised in the air, but I did hear the relieved expulsion of breath from my mother, and therefore knew the result before Ostara spoke it.
“The motion carries. The Covenant of the Three will be renewed one last time. Conclave will seek to find a new way to bind the Darkness.”
Then Xiomara cleared her throat and spoke with something less than her usual sharpness.
“Thank you, Vesper Coven, and particularly you, Kerridwen. On behalf of the Conclave and every coven in Sedgwick Cove, we are grateful for your sacrifice.”
Ostara snorted softly, clearly taking offense to the term “sacrifice.”
“Are we finished here?” my mom asked bluntly. “If I’m going to uproot my entire life, I have a few phone calls to make. And I need to speak to my daughter.”
It was Ostara who answered stiffly, “Of course. We can conclude with—”
There was a resounding crash from behind us, and we all whipped around to see Bernadette on the ground, a stack of books scattered around her, and both hands clutched to her head as she cried out.
“What the—!” Zale said before slapping a hand over his mouth in horror.
Voices flew into a frenzy on the other side of the wall.
“What in the world was that?”
“Is there someone in the library?”
“Ostara, could someone be here?
Bernadette was already staggering to her feet.
“What the hell, Bernadette?!” Nova hissed. “We are so dead!”
“It’s all right,” Bernadette muttered. “I’m… I’m all right.”
“No you’re not all right! None of us are! Ostara’s about to kill us all!” Nova snapped, barely mouthing the words.
At that moment, Ostara’s voice could be heard, “There’s a secret reading room. It’s possible—”
“Go!” Bernadette hissed, and she pointed at the solitary window in the tiny room, the one set high into the wall above the desk. “Get out! I’ll… I’ll go out there. I’ll tell her it was just me.”
“That’s never going to w—”
