Page 37 of Pure Magic
“How?” Her eyes narrow.
I draw my earth magic to me, wrap her in my arms, and ask, “Trust me?”
Wide-eyed, she holds my shoulders.
“Hold on. This may be a bit unnerving for you.” I call on the spell to give me the ability to move faster than any man or beast and run through the streets of Windsor. People on the street see only a blur, like a shadow from the corner of their eyes. When they turn to look, we’re already long gone.
Within two minutes, we’re standing at the back door to the coven house. I lightly place Sara Beth back on her feet. “Are you all right?”
She wobbles for a moment before a wide smile spreads across her face. “One day soon we’re going to sit down and talk about all your skills, Adam.”
I run my knuckles along her jaw. “You are part of me now, Beth. Look inside me and see all there is. I’ll hide nothing from you.”
For a moment, I feel her joy. Then it’s gone, and she bounds into the house. “Great Mother? Sylvia? June?”
Footsteps on the stairs bring June down with an apron covering her light blue dress. “Is something amiss, Sara Beth?”
Sara Beth walks to the back door and looks out before closing it again. “Is the great mother all right?”
June opens her mouth and stares with shocked eyes as she fusses with the knot tying her apron. “She’s sitting at the table upstairs. All is calm here. What happened to the two of you?”
I was so riveted by her moment of happiness at the idea of being a part of me, I didn’t even notice her hair sticking out in all directions from speeding through town. Patting my own hair down, I laugh. “We’re well, but there is much to tell.”
Sylvia stands in the still room doorway with a hand on one hip. “Do I need to call the coven, high priestess?”
With a long breath in and out to calm her nerves and keep her words even, Sara Beth says, “Not all, but those who I’ll need for a consensus.”
Sylvia pulls her hair tight and knots it at the back of her head as she rushes inside the still room.
My questions about how she’s going to call anyone must slip through our bond. Sara Beth says, “Sylvia is a telepath. She’ll contact Esme, Minerva, and Winnie. That will bring the witches we need to explain things.”
Upstairs, Prudence stares into her tea. “Trouble is upon us?”
“I’m afraid so, Great Mother,” Sara Beth says, sounding resigned to the inevitable.
June asks, “Should Trina and I leave, high priestess?”
Shaking her head, Sara Beth gives the two young witches a small but warm smile. “You should hear what is afoot and decide if you wish to remain for what is to come.”
Trina steps in from the kitchen, where she’d been hovering on the threshold and listening. “I’ll not leave my sister and brother witches to save myself.”
Sara Beth holds up a hand to stop any more declarations. “You’ll listen to what we face and what we know, and then you can decide what you wish to do. No witch will be forced to face danger. We’ve all been through enough. I want everyone to have the opportunity to be safe.”
I have brought this trouble upon this coven and this town. “Perhaps if I leave Windsor now, they will follow me. It might be better for everyone if I just pack my bag and go.”
“Are you leaving, Adam?” Jonah asks from the top of the stairs. For a giant of a man, he moves very quietly. He’s frowning and looking from me to Sara Beth.
Minerva steps around him. “I hope we haven’t chased you away, Adam. Tell us what we must do to encourage you to remain in Windsor.”
“I’m only bringing the subject up as a possible solution to our problem.” My heart is lodged in my throat. I don’t want to leave, but I don’t want anyone to be harmed, or worse, because I’m selfish.
“You’re not selfish,” Sara Beth scolds in my head.
More stomping up the steps brings Esme, William, Winnie, and Henry Dove.
Esme says, “We came as soon as Sylvia called. What’s happened?”
Sylvia troops up behind them. “I’ve locked the doors and added some protection to the house.”
