Coven (25 page)

Wild decorations covered the streets and
alleyways. Businesses and residential homes alike, were completely
decked out with spooky décor—all meant to entice those who made a
pilgrimage back to the place of the historic Salem Witch
Trials.

I wondered if those who lived during the
famous trials realized what would happen to this area as a result
of their judgment. In their effort to destroy witches, they simply
succeeded in turning the town into one of the most well-known witch
meccas of the world. People came from all over—some were actual
witches, mixing with tourists who wanted to celebrate the magical
beings. I’d never seen so many costumes in my life. It didn’t
matter that it wasn’t actually October 31st, yet.

“Shoot, this is nothing,” Seth said, holding
my hand as we walked down the sidewalk. “Wait until you see it in a
couple of weeks, on Halloween day. You can hardly walk through the
streets because of all the tourists.”

“I guess I didn’t realize it was such a big
deal. I mean, I’ve seen it in movies and stuff, but it’s not like
there’s a lot of places to trick-or-treat when you live in the
middle of nowhere. Our closest neighbor was at least thirty miles
away.”

“Then we need to make sure you get the whole
experience,” Jett interjected, his elbow casually brushing against
mine as we walked, sending sparks every time we touched. “What do
you want to dress up as?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Definitely a princess.
Maybe Cinderella?”

“Seriously?” Jett sounded disappointed. “I
thought for sure you’d want to be a witch. I mean, this is Salem,
after all.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I’m a witch in
Salem every day. I want to be something else for Halloween.”

“Hmm. I didn’t think of it that way.”

“If you’re serious about dressing up,
there’s a masquerade ball coming up at school,” Seth said. “Do you
want to go?”

Feeling uncomfortable, I shrugged. “I don’t
know.”

“What’s wrong?” Jett asked, sounding
concerned.

“Well, I figured I wouldn’t go because I
didn’t want to hurt either of your feelings. I want to go with both
of you.”

“If that’s what you want, then we will make
it happen,” Seth added, not sounding upset in the least.

“You don’t think it would be weird for
Cinderella to show up with two Prince Charming’s?”

“I think it sounds like a twisted fairytale
if you ask me. Twisted could be fun.” Leave it to Jett to put the
naughty spin on everything.

I’d spent nearly every free spare moment I
had with these two guys over the last month and a half, and it had
done nothing to clear up my feelings. If anything, it made them
even more muddled. The closer we grew together, the more our lives
intertwined, like vines swirling, tangling and knotting together
until I wasn’t even sure how we’d ever operated as individuals. It
never seemed exactly right unless both of them were with me.
Something about each of them filled a special kind of need inside
me.

I’d done as Jett suggested, casually
bringing him up to my parents as I tried to find a way to introduce
them. Being a cheerleader had helped because they came to watch the
games, and my dad had been impressed with the way both Jett and
Seth played. Still, that didn’t mean he was ready for Jett to date
me—not to mention I was pretty sure he’d freak if he knew I was
dating them both.

“Hey, check this out,” Seth said, dragging
me closer to a vendor table with several jewelry pieces spread out
on display. The artistry and craftsmanship was fabulous on several
of the pieces, and so was the price.

“How beautiful! Did you make these?” I
politely asked the woman at the table, peering closer as I looked
at several different colored pendants.

“Oh no. These are pieces I’ve collected from
all over. Some of them are quite rare.”

A beautiful purple pendant caught my
attention. Scrolling silver filigree surrounded the stone. My hand
moved as if it had a mind of its own. “How much for this one?” I
asked, running my fingers over the tarnished silver chain.

“You have good taste,” the woman said.
“That’s the most expensive one in the bunch. It’s one hundred and
fifty dollars.”

I didn’t have that much with me. “I only
have one hundred. Will you take that?” Staring hopefully, I wanted
this necklace so badly.

“I’m afraid one twenty is as low as I’m
willing to go.”

“Will you hold it, then, while I go get more
money?”

“Here’s a twenty,” Jett said, dragging his
wallet out and retrieving some cash.

Relief flooded through me and I flashed a
grateful smile at him. “Thank you so much. We can go to the ATM and
I’ll pay you right back.”

“You don’t have to pay me back.” He smiled.
“I don’t mind helping to buy you something pretty.”

“It’s not for me,” I rushed to explain.
“It’s for my mom. As soon as I saw it, I knew she needed to have
it.” I paid the woman, feeling a strange excitement rush through
me. She wrapped it up and handed it to me in a small plastic
bag.

“Thank you for your purchase,” she said with
a smile. “Feel free to drop by again. I’ll be out here every
weekend this month.

“Thanks. Have a nice day.”

“Where to now, boss?” Seth glanced at
me.

I shrugged. “I’m following both of you. You
know all the good places to go. Of course, if there is somewhere we
can get cash so I can pay Jett back, that would be great.”

“Seriously, Kenna. Don’t worry about the
money.” I loved the way my name sounded on his lips. It was just so
yummy. I wanted to ask him to say it again. Whenever either of them
spoke my name, it did funny things to me. I wasn’t sure if it was
because of the attraction, or because of the way our magical
abilities heightened around one another.

Ever since we’d been practicing together in
the woods, it was undeniable that something powerful was going on
between us. Our magic was off-the-charts strong when we acted
together, much more so than when we did feats separately.

“Oh, look!” I pointed, already distracted,
drawing their attention to a large sign that read: Madame Palmeroy
Tells Your Fortune. “A fortune teller. I’ve always wanted to get my
fortune told.”

“I could try and tell it,” Jett offered and
I snickered.

“What?” he asked, frowning. “Are you
doubting my premonition abilities?”

“No. I just imagined you in a gypsy
costume.”

His laughter joined mine. “I’d be the
hottest damn gypsy you’ve ever seen.” He was probably right. His
longer hair and dark, sultry looks combined with that perfect
trimmed facial scruff—he’d be a heartbreaker, for sure. I’d
probably need to beat the women off him with a stick.

“I want to go see this Madame Palmeroy—see
if she’s legit.” Moving toward the tent, I practically dragged Seth
behind me.

The flap to the tent was open, folded back,
and the three of us stepped inside—almost immediately into a wall
of red fabric that draped the length of the small tent. A couple of
folding chairs were shoved against a wall, and the soft music
playing from somewhere barely covered the murmur of voices still
evident from behind the curtain.

“I guess we just sit down and wait our
turn?” I asked, glancing between Jett and Seth.

“Works for me. Pick a seat,” Seth said,
gesturing to one of the two.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Jett said, sliding
into one of the chairs and pulling me onto his lap. “Now we can all
sit down.”

I giggled and Seth smiled as he sat in the
vacant one beside us, not seeming the least bit upset over the fact
the Jett had just snatched me away from him.

“You need to be careful,” Jett whispered
into my ear, loud enough for Seth to hear. “Don’t offer any
information to the woman. The fakes try to lead you and they are
trained to look for tells. A real seer, or fortune-teller, won’t
need those things.”

“Okay, but you’re coming in with me,
right?”

He shrugged. “If you want.”

“I want,” I replied, glancing at Seth. “You,
too. It’ll make me feel less antsy.”

“What’re you antsy about?” Seth asked,
rubbing his hand in a comforting gesture against my thigh—only I
was pretty sure comfort wasn’t what he was causing inside me with
his action. Having Jett’s arms around me wasn’t helping matters,
either.

The curtain parted suddenly, revealing a
costumed woman. I’d guess she was around sixty, wearing a heavily
patterned gown of reds, yellows, and purples. Her red hair, which
was clearly not natural judging from the shade, was peeking out
from beneath a turban containing a large fake jewel and a feather.
Her loosely draped clothing made a swishing sound as she gestured
toward the three of us. “Next?” she said, arching an eyebrow as she
stared us down. I wondered if she was trying to appear
intimidating.

“I’d like a reading,” I replied, standing.
“But I’d like for my friends to join me.”

“Come along,” she replied. With a dramatic
twirl of her fingers, she disappeared behind the fabric, once
more.

Seth stood and parted the curtain, allowing
me to enter the darkened space, lit only by three pillar candles on
a small table. Instantly I was overpowered by the smell of burning
incense—so much so that I felt completely robbed of oxygen.

Sitting down across the round table from the
woman, I began coughing. At that moment, a cool breeze swirled
through the tent, causing some of the thick claustrophobic air to
diminish. Casting a grateful glance toward Jett, I knew he was the
one responsible for it and I wished I could thank him.

“I’m Madame Palmeroy. Thank you for coming
to see me, today. Do you have the payment for your session?”

Nothing like jumping straight to the
chase,
I thought. I dug into my pocket and then remembered I
still owed Jett for the necklace and I was out of money. Apparently
he remembered, as well, because he retrieved another twenty-dollar
bill from his wallet and plopped it down in front of her.

She made quick work of gathering it up and
disposing it into a padlocked strongbox with a slit on the top.
Then she turned her attention back to me. “If it’s all right, I’d
like to take a moment to ask you a few questions before we begin,
just to ascertain your energy, of course.”

Jett and Seth each took up a position behind
my chair, almost as if they were standing guard. I felt Jett
lightly squeeze one of my shoulders, warning me, again, to be
mindful of revealing too much.

“What would you like to know?” I responded
with a smile.

“Let’s start with your name.”

“Kenna,” I replied, seeing no harm in her
knowing my first name. She had introduced herself to me, after all.
It was the polite thing to do.

“And how old are you, Kenna?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be able to tell
things like that?” Jett asked, obviously a skeptic in spite of his
own slight ability toward premonition.

Madame Palmeroy stared at him pointedly.
“Very well, then. May I see your hand, Kenna?” She didn’t take her
eyes off Jett until I slid my hand across the table.

Glancing down, she took it in hers and ran
her long, wildly painted fake nails across my palm, giving me goose
bumps, but not in a good way. Unable to help myself, I leaned
forward, as if trying to discern what she might be seeing, as
well.

“Interesting,” she said mostly to herself.
“Very interesting.”

“What?” I asked, eager to hear her
assessment.

“I see a tall, dark, handsome man in your
future. He will be your soul mate in every way.” Seth immediately
stiffened beside me.

“Who is he?” I wasn’t sure that she was
actually hitting on anything, so I needed her to clarify more.

“His name begins with an M.”

“An M?” Confusion swirled through me as I
tried to remember if I’d met any guys with an “M” name,
recently.

“It could perhaps be an inverted W,” she
continued on. “It’s hard to see.”

Sighing, I immediately lost faith in her
ability. She couldn’t possibly be reading me if she was already
guessing. “What else is there?”

“I see happiness in your future. Education,
marriage, and children.”

“How many children?” I asked, having never
really considered the possibility for myself.

“Hard to see. It’s very cloudy. Maybe two,
or even five.”

“Which is it? Two or five,” Jett said in an
irritated tone. “That’s kind of a big difference.”

“The spirits are often hedgy. A lot of
fortune telling is left up to interpretation.”

“So, in other words, you don’t have the
gift. Is that what you’re saying?” I could practically feel the
disgust oozing off him. His fingers dug into my shoulder and I
winced. He was getting angry.

“How dare you speak to me that way? Don’t
you know who I am? I come from a long line of respected
psychics.”

“You just don’t happen to be one of them,”
Jett lashed back. “That’s why you’re sitting here on a street
corner trying to sucker honest people out of their money.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me giving people
a bit of fun during the festivities.”

“There is if you don’t state that this is
for entertainment purposes only,” Seth spoke up. “That’s false
advertising.”

Jumping from her seat, Madame Palmeroy
stared between them both, her eyes glittering like ice. “Get out,
before I throw you out.” I was pretty sure she’d forgotten she was
still holding my hand. “Get out now!” she yelled again, lunging
toward Jett and grabbing him by the sleeve.

“Back off, bitch!” he yelled, sending a
slight burst of magic that made her tumble back into her seat. I
grabbed at her with my other hand in an attempt to keep her from
falling all the way to the ground.

Immediately she stiffened, her face draining
completely of color.

“Madame Palmeroy?” I questioned, sounding
slightly hysterical. “Are you okay?”