Chapter 1

Elly

The glamour was beginning to hurt. No, not beginning to. It was already excruciating. Or at least it would be for anyone else but at this point, Elly was used to the pain. Glamour shouldn’t be worn constantly. A quick glamour to change your eyes from blue to green. Maybe to change your hair from blonde to black. Witches did these things all the time. Elly looked down into the puddle of rainwater beneath her feet. Her stomach twisted at the old wrinkled face staring back at her. This glamour had been forced on her almost every day since she was six years old. She touched her cheek wondering what her real face looked like now.

“Stop touching, you’ll distort it again.” Rebekah slapped Elly’s hand away from her face. “Just stay here and be quiet. Darren stay with Elly.” her eyes moved up and down Elly’s body giving it one last check. Elly could feel her features twist into a scowl. “Get that look off your face.” She stormed across the parking lot back toward her husband. What face? This face wasn’t hers! Elly opened her mouth to yell only to have the words replaced with a gasp. Darren’s fingers dug into her wrist.

“Let’s go, grandma.” He sneered at her and pulled her back toward the small car parked in the far corner. He thrust his arm forward making her stumble along with him. This glamour was harder than others; more in-depth so it drew on more of her power. It even covered up the many scars and bruises that normally decorated her skin. As Elly stumbled face-first into the rusted car door Darren chuckled.

“You know, I’m really going to miss my favorite toy when you’re gone. No use for you after you turn twenty-one.” He pulled her hand closer to his face. His eyes rolled back as he squeezed her wrist until her bones protested. Elly tried to pull away to no avail. He was draining her energy again. Greedily taking more than she could handle. “You just had to go and ruin a good thing.” He swung the car door open and released her. Looking down at Elly with disgust as she fell into the back seat of the car unable to move.

That’s what they do. The Hughes. The family that had been hiding Elly since the night her parents were murdered. with no power of their own, they are used as conduits in coven rituals. Power is channeled into them for large rituals and spells. But they’re not in a coven anymore. They left the night of the massacre and they took Elly with them. Instead of keeping her safe and taking care of her like her parents asked they spent years draining the life out of her like the leeches they are.

The weight of the car shifted. Elly opened her eyes to see Darren’s cruel smirk hovering above her as he crawled on top of her.

“Darren, come help us with the boxes.” Jonah’s firm voice called out. Elly’s head fell back in relief when he started to leave.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got a whole week left to spend some quality time together.” He slipped away to help his father. His words cut into Elly like knives. One week? That’s all she had left until she turned twenty-one? She couldn’t stop her body from shaking. They never celebrated her birthday. Not the way they should anyway. Her birthday was the only time they could do a ritual big enough to give them enough magic to last them for a year. At least it should be enough for a year. But the Hughes family were greedy leeches. Addicted to power they should not have access to. And with the source being close at hand they were reckless. Most witches come into their full power by their eighteenth birthday. When Elly didn’t fully awaken they nearly bled her dry trying to get Power that just wasn’t there. They would have known the power wasn’t there if they hadn’t bound her, locked away her magic. Allowing it to grow but keeping it just beyond her reach.

“Is everything alright?” Jonah’s voice filtered into the car through the open trunk.

“All good dad. Nanna was feeling weak so I was helping her get situated in the car.”

“What a helpful young man.” A voice Elly didn’t recognize joined them. She immediately sat up and looked out the rear window. The front car door swung open drawing her attention before she could see who the stranger was. Rebekah was glaring at her from the passenger seat. Her finger pressed to her lips.

“Keep in mind the coven is still hunting you and so are the wolves. If either of them finds you they’ll do a lot worse than anything we’ve ever done.” Her quiet voice sent chills down Elly’s spine. Her mind struggled to imagine what could be worse.

“You guys bought a lot more supplies this time around. Gearing up for a full moon ritual next week? It’s supposed to be a blood moon.” The voice came again but Elly’s eyes were locked on Rebekah’s. She learned a long time ago trying to get help from strangers was a futile effort that came with heavy consequences. She even had the scars on her back as a reminder.

“Ah, yeah. Nothing too spectacular. Being solitary we don’t go too big.” Jonah laughed awkwardly. It took all of Elly’s strength not to sneer. Being solitary had nothing to do with it. There were plenty of powerful solitary witches. They couldn’t do huge rituals because they were fucking leeches. Conduits had no place practicing high magic outside of covens. It was enticing and addictive. Most of all if you weren’t careful it was deadly.

“You guys might want to seek out a coven for this one. There’s supposed to be an eclipse too. Haven’t seen anything like this for a few decades now.”

“An eclipse?” Jonah gasped. He had been learning astrology but like everything else, it seemed he had no talent for it. Rebekah’s eyes grew wide when she heard. A few decades…did that mean…

“Oh yeah. The energy circulating is massive, can’t you feel it? You all are actually lucky you got me when you did. A pretty big coven is buying out the rest of my stock. It’s going to be a while before I can fully resupply.”

“They…they really cleaned you out? Are they nearby or is this one you have to travel a bit for?” A tense silence fell between them. Rebekah reached into her bag and grabbed a dagger. The last thing they would allow was someone to get suspicious of them let alone uncover their secret. The merchant’s laughter shattered the tension.

“No worries. You guys are some of my best customers.” When Jonah didn’t reply he laughed even harder. “You’re worried about where you’ll get your supplies? Look, I know a lot of solitary practitioners. They don’t want big brother coven breathing down their necks over what they’re conjuring. I get it, man. I’m not gonna make you have to buy from the coven directly.” The gravel shifted outside the car and the merchant’s voice lowered to a whisper. “I’ve got a pretty decent reserve or herbs and whatnot. Along with my stash for personal use and a few rare items. I can cut you guys a deal when the time comes.” Jonah’s nervous laugh came out in a forceful huff.

“That’s why we come to you. You are the best in the business.”

“Damn right I am. Here, last box. Happy casting friends!” He called out and the crunch of gravel moved away from them. The car shifted as the last box was put in the trunk and it was slammed shut. Jonah and Darren piled into the car. Jonah’s hands gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

“Do you think the eclipse means…” he started to ask but Rebekah cut him off.

“Of course, that’s what it means. She’s going to fully awaken.” Elly felt her skin burn under the heated glare of Darren and his mother. Their voices melted away as Elly fell deeper into her thoughts. They were already planning to kill her. She knew that. This birthday was going to be her last so the leeches can finally have Power of their own. That was before they were certain she would fully awaken. The years of planning to escape have all led to this moment. If she wanted to escape with her life it was now or never.