We’d left our home in the clutches of our enemy. There was no saying the wounds that were being left behind across witch-kind… the scars that would be close to impossible to heal.
“All the more reason to finish this,” Romy said, throwing the last shreds of her bread on the plate. “For all we know, Bahmet will not start the next trial for weeks from now. Time doesn’t matter to the demon, especially if it weakens us body and spirit. I’d say it’s not even been a week yet since this started, and thelongest the Witch Trials ever lasted was close to half a year. If we don’t end this now, we risk losing more than just each other.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked, recognising the glint of a plan forming behind Romy’s hazel eyes. “Because I sense you have a plan, and you’re gearing up for the grand reveal.”
Romy straightened in her seat, sparing each of us a glance as she readied herself to reveal the plan she one hundred percent had already created.
“I say we force Bahmet’s hand. We make the demon drag us into the next trial. Then, when we get the chance, we attack.” Bywe, I knew Romy meantyou. Me. “If that doesn’t work, we do the same for the final trial. Bahmet needs to pick a victor. That’s going to be hard if we all survive. If we don’t take control, Bahmet is going to force us into a position that we each fight one another until the victor is crowned. You know we can’t leave by forfeiting. We must fight.”
“To the death,” Arwyn said, face ashen as his face settled on each and every one of us. “And the only person who can evade death is my father. Tomin is prepped to win. If we don’t do something he’ll take Bahmet’s power, and the destruction of witch-kind is practically signed in blood and power. There’ll be no stopping him.”
Silence filled the room, so loud that it drove me mad. Who would’ve thought silence could be loud in the first place, but then again, my ears rang like they were going to pop.
“Okay,” I said, mind whirling, head buried in hands until I saw stars wink in the darkness. “Okay. We need a plan to lure Bahmet to start the next trial. Any ideas?”
Romy smiled to herself. Her time was here. It felt as though it had been years since I’d last seen her crack a grin, so this was an improvement. “Actually there is something. As the self-proclaimed encyclopaedia for the Witch Trials, I seem to remember a singular time that Bahmet was forced to start atrial against… of course at the time it wasn’t documented that Bahmet was even behind them… but if we can trust the source, I think I know what we can do.”
Arwyn rested his elbows on the table, excitement glowing in his wondrous eyes. “Paris, 1954.Romy, I could kiss you!”
“Please don’t,” she grumbled. “I actually know where your mouth has been and I don’t want that anywhere near me.”
“I second what she said. Arwyn, keep your lips to yourself,” Kai added, wrapping a protective arm around Romy’s shoulder. “I’m surprised they aren’t already exhausted from what you’ve been doing tonight.”
My cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. “Perhaps less sarcasm about our sex life, and you can explain what happened in 1954?”
Romy and Arwyn said two words at the same time, voices blending as one.
“Hekate happened.”
36
HECTOR
“In 1954, a group of witches came together during the Witch Trials, and invoked Hekate.” Romy’s gaze stretched out before her as she caught me up to speed with what I’d missed. “The information was hidden. Scrubbed from the archives so only those in power, such as Jonathan Bailey, knew. At the time we didn’t know that Bahmet was behind it all, well at least those in power did, but from what the entries suggest, the witches partaking in those trials were frightened. Surrounded by death. They’d lost friends in a previous trial and sought guidance from Hekate in their moment of need. Something witches haven’t done in centuries.”
“And it worked?” I asked, stumbling down the beaten track that led along the impossibly tall chalk-lined cliffs.
“They never got the chance to find out. A trial started immediately. Fuck.” Romy rolled her ankle on a lump of weed and rock. I reached out and steadied her, at the same time her cursing caught the attention of Kai who walked up front with Arwyn.
“You good?” I asked.
She shook herself off, clicking her neck in agitation. “I’ll begoodwhen we get out of this shithole.”
“I’m with you on that,” I agreed. “Back to what you were saying before you got distracted watching the back of Kai’s ginger curls blow in the wind.”
She shot me a sharp look. “You’re a nightmare, Hector.”
“Stop flirting with me,” I replied with a wink.
It was good, spending time with Romy like this. Breaking each other’s hard façade with a joke. This was what I’d missed. Since we’d been dragged into the Witch Trials again, placed in the literal path of death, we’d lost our spark. My friend had been occupied with Kai, and I didn’t blame her. My attention never strayed far from Arwyn either.
“I’ve read up on almost every account about previous Witch Trials. They really did a number hiding this information.”
She shrugged. “In hindsight, I think Bahmet didn’t want people to know. By controlling the chosen Grand High he was able to control the narrative. But Jonathan… he wasn’t controlled. He had access to information that shouldn’t have got out. I guess his loose mouth really was his downfall.”
It should’ve been awkward talking to Romy about her uncle—the one I’d killed in cold blood. But it wasn’t. She hated him equally.
“Invoking Hekate is, at the heart, old magic. Skills that we lost years ago. If doing such a simple spell was enough to piss off a demon lord, what’s to say that our previous Grand Highs have ensured that we have forgotten about our old ways with the guidance of the demon that was lingering in their skin. It’s weird because in Eleanor Letcombe’s grimoire there were images of Hekate. Hand-drawn pictures of the Goddess with a goat beside her. I can’t help but think it’s connected, but without talking to Eleanor there’s no way of knowing why she drew Hekate with what could possibly be Bahmet.”
