Lahat ng Kabanata ng Hayle Coven Novels: Kabanata 601 - Kabanata 610

So black, so thick, the world was gone. And then light, thin and distorted, tinted deep purple, all around me. My vampire stood beside me, her white power flaring, stained by the crystal's heart. My demon and Shaylee both stayed close, back to back with me, a four-cornered star as we all peered outward into the dark.A shining light appeared on my left, floating toward me. When he came close enough to recognize, Demetrius's smile lit my heart, blue eyes as clear as any crystal, no sign of the insanity in control of his mind, the damage to his body not visible on him here. In this place.In the center of the heart of darkness.I felt it then, the subtle hum of it, the pull of magic feeding it. Felt it try to devour me, a slow and lazy suction until I showed it the flower of sorcery at my base, the black of its petals a perfect match for the crystal. With a surge of joy it welcomed me, reversed its process, now supplying me with power, siphoning it back into my various magicks, as tho

There was nothing left for me to do. Not while Andre swelled with power and Mia sagged, sobbing into her hands. While I hadn't done it personally, I had a hand in my friend's ruin.Sorrow washed through me as I turned, met Quaid's eyes. Saw his grief for his sister. Glanced over his shoulder.And sobbed myself, once. She lay crumpled on her side, bare skin pale, blonde hair spread around her, stained dark with her blood. Charlotte's stillness told me what I needed to know, but I went to her anyway. To confront her loss.Sassafras jumped down, approaching her face. Touched her nose with his small, pink one. Jerked back and hissed as he looked up at me. "Syd," he said. "She's still warm."Impossible. I fell to my knees, my power reaching for Charlotte. But she was gone, no heartbeat, no breath. And yet, he was right.She hadn't died from the bullet wound after all.Charlotte survived all this time only to die just before I reached her.Heaving sobs ripped me open as I fell over he

"How long exactly were you in possession of the Dumont family magic?" Huan Wong glared at me over her round glasses, lips turned down into a grim half circle, wrinkles pulling at her pale yellow skin.Oh. My. Swearword."For the last time," I said, temper showing as I snapped my response, "I was never, at any time, in control of another family's power."What, telling them sixteen million times wasn't enough? Sixteen million and one it was.The entire line of Councilors, Mom included, towered over me in their high and mighty seats while I sat on a low bench in the middle of the chamber, enduring my third round of interrogations since Pender kindly but firmly escorted me to Harvard."I'm so sorry," he said. "But I'm under orders."I could still hear Charlotte's howls as he took me away, leaving her behind. And they hadn't let her or anyone else near me since. Three rounds, three days. Oh, I wasn't a prisoner. They assured me of that the moment I was escorted through the Council mai

Mom wasn't about to let me off so easy. I'd just stepped outside the front doors of University Hall, preparing to find a quiet place to tear open the veil and just go the hell home when her mind latched onto mine.Not gently. Not kindly. With force.My office, she sent. Snarled, really. Now.First impulse? Smartass answer.Second impulse? Ignore her and get the hell out.Third impulse won. I trudged across the Yard, the frayed edges of my give a damn hanging around me. All through the last three days I'd been hoping Mom's angry front was just that-a front. A mask to keep the other Council members happy.But now that I'd felt her mind, heard and touched how real it was, my own anger flared bright and eager for a target.This really is a bad idea, my vampire sent.No hitting, Shaylee added.No mercy, my demon growled.They were all kinds of helpful.It was only the layers and layers of shielding I built keeping me from imminent explosion. When I focused on my energy, my temper

I was positive my life was meant to be insane at the best of times.And I guess I was okay with that.Demetrius's usual disappearing act didn't happen this time around. In fact, he happily ensconced himself in the basement, hugging me with tears in his eyes when I helped him set up a little space for himself with a "real bed" and "clothes of his own".One more heartache in a long list of them. But at least he seemed content to stay and I wasn't about to kick him out.Not when I knew I'd been needing him again, sooner rather than later. In fact, despite Demetrius's new digs, he was rarely home, more than eager to seek out the Brotherhood for me. And while I now worried about him, I knew I didn't need to. Demetrius might have reminded me of a scuttling cockroach lurking in the dark, but it was that very trait that kept him safe for so long.His poking about also meant I kept my nose clean. For now.I'd take it.My internet searches of the Brotherhood's corporation turned up fright