sigh slid from her as we walked. “As the young ones came in, they should have mentored one on one with an older member of the coven, learning and growing. But the young ones brought into the Coven of Darkness started killing the older members instead, stealing their power instead of earning it. Lazy little bastards. It means they are stronger than before, but don’t truly know how to use their strength, which of course makes them dangerous.”
I blinked a few times, imagining how that had gone down. “And the silver coven? I haven’t met any young ones. Gran never talked about bringing more women in.”
“Because we didn’t,” Penny said. “Better to keep our power to ourselves than have it stripped off us in death. We learned from the mistakes made by the Coven of Darkness. So no one has been brought into our inner circle for over thirty years. Any witches that came to us for training were given basic tools so they would not end up killing themselves or others, but that was it. But in doing that, we have weakened ourselves.”
Her words resonated with me. “I’m not a witch. To be clear. So no need to off me.”
“No, you have a lot more going on in you, and it all comes together to make you a rather unique individual.” Penny laughed.
She didn’t say more than that, and I let her words about the two covens roll through my head. The magic that had been tugging me along eased off, and suddenly we were slowing down.
We’d reached a square not unlike the ones in Savannah, only this one was larger.
“Beautiful,” I said as I took in the place. The last of the magic that had been ushering me along dissipated, and I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The view soothed some of the ragged edges in my soul and the flowers flooded my senses, reminding me a little of Gran’s garden back home. She would have loved it here. It was early enough in the afternoon that there weren’t many tourists either.
“Jackson Square,” Penny said. “Lovely on the surface, but so much death underneath all those flowers. You can’t cover up death like that and not expect it to come back to bite you in the ass. Just like the mansion. Watch your step, girl.”
With her warning ringing in my ears, we moved farther into the square, onto the grass. There was a moment where the ground softened ever so slightly, as if it would suck me down, just like when the wraiths had chased me in Alabama. I danced to the side, dragging Penny with me. She stumbled and I got us back onto the paved area.
I tightened my hold on Penny’s upper arm and shot her a look. “I think we’re in trouble.” I grimaced. “Again.”
14
As the ground under my feet softened I thought moving onto the paving stones would help. But the ground still felt like jelly even there. Jackson square was turning out to be a shit place to visit.
“Not today,” I muttered as I pulled Penny along, faster than she wanted to go, I’m sure, but adrenaline was pumping through me now, wiping away my fatigue and the discomfort of yesterday’s bruises. Even the sting from the whip faded as I looked for the best place for us to take a stand against whatever was coming our way.
I steered us to the right, away from the center of Jackson Square. There was a large Catholic church across from us, a huge monument reaching into the sky, and you’d think there’d be less hanky panky from the shadow world in the church’s, well, shadow. However, I wasn’t getting a ‘come on in and be safe’ vibe off it.
“What is it?” Penny kept up with my tugging, but I could practically feel her energy fading. “Girl, I can’t keep up this pace.”
Crap, she was right. Much as I might not like running and doing all my exercises, I’d gotten into better shape and my body moved accordingly when danger reared its ugly mug. I took Penny to the center of the square, where there was a round flowerbed wrapped around a large statue of a horse and rider. I didn’t spare more than a glance for the statue.
Penny sat on the stone. “What’s got you fussed? I’m not feeling anything.”
I sat next to her and pulled my feet up off the ground like a teenager as I scanned the