Dylan nodded. “That’s exactly how it works. You drained Nora’s powers, and now they’re inside you. They’re yours.”
Ethan shrugged. “I can live with that.”
A thought struck me. An awful thought. “Nora’s magic was evil. Does that mean Ethan will be—?”
Shannon shook her head. “Nora’s magic wasn’t evil. She used it for evil. That was all her doing. She made that choice. As long as Ethan doesn’t decide to be evil, he’ll be fine. Just like the rest of us.”
I looked at Dylan. This decision was his. I wouldn’t force him. “I understand if you don’t want us to join your coven.”
“Ben’s power is inside her,” Shannon said. “Rebecca’s, too. In a way, it would be like having them around.”
Dylan hesitated, but finally he said, “All right. But I’m doing it for Ben.”
I nodded. I hadn’t expected him to do me any favors. “So, do we bind our powers now?”
“No.” Shannon spread her arms out, motioning to the brokendown diner. “We clean up.”
I looked at the clock, hanging crookedly on the wall. “Gloria and Jackson will be here in an hour. We’ll never fix this place up by then.”
“Rookie,” Shannon said. She waved her hand, and the coffee maker floated from the floor, where it had fallen on Nora, back onto the counter. The broken pieces of glass fixed themselves, and it looked as good as new.
I stared in disbelief. “That was incredible!”
“Glad you think so,” Shannon said, “because we have a lot to fix. We’ll need your help.”
Dylan took Ethan to the kitchen, most likely to avoid me, and Shannon led me to the counter. They showed us how to focus our own minds and our energy on making the broken things return to the way they had been. The tingling sensation was the most amazing thing I’d ever felt. It took us almost the entire hour, but we put the diner back to normal.
Shannon pointed to the clock. “Time to jet.”
Five minutes. That was all we had. We’d fought all night long, and I wasn’t even tired. I was so high on my new power and the fact that I was me again. Really truly me, only better. More powerful.
I saw headlights pull into the parking lot. “Go, go, go! Gloria and Jackson are here!”
Dylan used his magic to kill the lights, and we took off for the back door. I’d barely slipped outside when I heard the bell over the front door jingle. We jumped in our cars and planned to meet in the woods in the spot where the coven used to get together. Dylan and Shannon took Nora’s body and went on ahead to show us the way.
Ethan reached for my hand as he drove. “You brought me back.”
“You brought me back,” I said. “We’re even.” I wanted to jump over the center console and kiss him, but Dylan and Shannon were waiting for us. My reunion with Ethan would have to wait.
We pulled onto a dirt road, one I’d never noticed before. As we drove I heard trees rustling behind us, like a huge gust of wind was making them sway and creak. I looked back and saw the trees bending back into place, covering the dirt road we were on. It wasn’t a road at all. Dylan or Shannon must have been creating the path so we could get to the clearing in the woods.
I smiled, imagining all the things I was going to be able to do with my new powers. If I had twice the power of a normal witch, there was no telling what I could do. The possibilities were endless. But I knew one thing for certain. I’d never use my powers for evil. I’d had enough of black magic and death for one lifetime. Instead, I’d use my magic to try to make up for the terrible things I’d done after Nora brought me back. I knew I couldn’t undo any of the deaths I’d caused, but I’d find some way to protect the families I’d torn apart. I was determined to make their lives at least a little better from now on.
Dylan stopped his car, and we pulled up behind him.
“This way.” Shannon motioned for us to follow.
Dylan was making Nora’s body levitate behind him. It was eerie to see her shriveled form floating through the air like that. We came to a clearing with a fire pit in the middle. Dylan levitated the body directly over it.
“Stand in a circle,” he instructed.
I wasn’t sure how four people were supposed to make a circle, but we did our best. I realized there used to be five witches in their coven. We were technically one witch short. Although, since I had double the power, the amount of magic we had was still the same. Dylan started chanting in a language I didn’t understand, and a golden circle appeared on the ground beneath us.
“It’s a protective circle,” Shannon said. “We need it before we can bind our powers.”
“Okay,” Dylan said, addressing us. “Ben used to be in charge, but since he’s no longer with us, I guess I’ll run the meetings. Is that all right with everyone?”
We all nodded, and I used my eyes to convey a silent apology to Dylan, but he turned away. It was going to take time…lots of time.
Ethan reached for my hand, offering me support. He was lucky that the only person he’d killed was a truly evil witch. I wished I could say the same.
“We need to join hands,” Dylan said, “to complete the circle.” We stepped closer to the fire pit so we could reach each other’s hands. “I’m going to combine the spell to burn Nora’s body with the spell to bind our circle, making us a coven, but before I do, I have to make sure this is what you both want. Once we are tied together by magic, we’re linked for life.”
Ethan looked to me. He didn’t know these people at all—not that I was an expert on them either—but Ethan was going to follow my lead.
I nodded. “I’m willing.”
“Then so am I,” Ethan said.
Dylan looked at Shannon, and she shrugged. “What the hell? Come eight o’clock, I’m going to be out of friends. It will be nice to have a few friendly faces at school.”
“Just so you both know, I plan to try to make up for what I’ve done. Use my magic for good. If you’ll help me.” My eyes lingered on Dylan.
Dylan took a deep breath, probably trying to come to terms with this himself, and said a bunch of words I didn’t understand. Slowly, golden magic floated out from each of us, forming a band and encircling us. Its warmth made me feel at home. Dylan continued with the spell. “Sam and Ethan, do you swear to honor the coven as family, to protect it, and live by the rules we agree upon?”
Ethan and I exchanged glances. “We do.”
The golden band intensified, making us glow with a faint burst of yellow. Dylan looked at Ethan and me. “Don’t get freaked out at the next part. Nothing can hurt you inside this circle. Trust me.”
“We trust you,” I said.
He nodded and picked up where he’d left off. With a few more words, the golden magic shot from us to Nora’s body, setting it on fire. The flames licked at us, and while I could feel their warmth, I knew they wouldn’t burn me. It wasn’t really fire after all. It was magic consuming Nora’s body.
Within minutes, there was nothing left of her. The magic that had burned her returned to us, and our bodies slowly faded from the brilliant yellow to our normal skin tone.
“It’s done,” Dylan said, letting go of Shannon and Ethan’s hands. “We’re bound to each other for life.” He turned away, and I couldn’t help wondering if he’d ever be okay with this.
“Now what?” I asked.
“We go to school,” Shannon said, looking up at the sun rising over the mountains.
Shannon hadn’t exactly been right about the entire school hating her. Over the next three weeks, most people just ignored her as if they didn’t even know her name, and the few who gave her vague looks of recognition and contempt turned away as Ethan and I glared at them. Shannon had started to give in and act friendly toward us, even when we weren’t helping her with spells. In time, I thought we might actually become friends.