“I cast an incantation, so that if the prophecy was ever passed to someone outside the Bureau, it would destroy itself. I also… paraphrased a little.” She moistens her lower lip. “The version I gave to the Bureau said simply that a girl would be born with the power to stop the underworld rising. I left out the details.” She shrugs and reaches for the kettle. “What can I say? I don’t trust authority figures.”
As Thessaly sets out seven copper cups, and pours hot brown liquid into them, I rub my temples. They’re throbbing. The sensation trickles down into my veins, like pain, and fear, and terror from the vision are still living inside me.
We each take a cup of tea. I blow across the top of mine, then take a long sip. Whatever it’s made of it smells heavenly and it eases the throbbing in my head.
Mack is the first to speak. Slowly, as if he’s thinking very carefully, tying the pieces together and watching them fit, he taps the side of his cup. “So, you gave the Bureau an edited version of The Phoenix Prophecy. Someone at the Bureau stole it, but it destroyed itself, and all they learned was that some girl, somewhere, was destined to stop the underworld rising.”
No one says anything. Setting his cup down, Mack stands up and we simply watch him as he begins to pace up and down, hands behind his back.
“And the six of us are part of The Phoenix Prophecy because we are descendants of The Original Six.”
Thessaly stands now, too. The bracelets on her wrist jangle as they knock against one another. She puts her hand on Mack’s elbow, then turns to look at the rest of us. “The love your ancestors shared was so powerful, and the pain of their loss so great, that it passed through the generations.” She pauses and looks up at the ceiling of the tent as tears fill her eyes. She wipes them then shakes her head. “When your ancestors watched Ava die, something was set in motion. Something that changed the history of magick and the supernatural world. Other witches were burned. Some had magickal powers, some were just women who did not behave the way society wanted them to behave.” She breathes in deeply. “But instead of extinguishing magick, the people who burned those witches set something free. They released our power. Magick didn’t die—it grew. No matter how hard they tried to stamp it out.” She takes in the six of us. “It took a long time for you all to find each other again. The essence of The Original Six passed through generation after generation. It was dormant for centuries. But that is how it had to be. You were destined to be reunited when the time was right.”
“Now is the right time?” I ask, holding my cup so tightly my knuckles whiten. “Because of Ragnor?”
Thessaly blinks at me. “Yes, Nova. Because of what Ragnor is about to unleash.”
“You’ve seen it? What he’s trying to set free?” I ask, wrapping my arms around my waist as a cold breeze whips through the closed tent door.
Thessaly nods. “Yes.”
“But you’ve seen us stopping it?” Kole dips his head to meet his mother’s eyes.
For a moment, just a flash of a moment, something passes between the two of them. I can’t read it. It’s too fast, but it makes my skin prickle with uncertainty.
Without answering Kole’s question, Thessaly says, “There is only one more thing I can tell you.”
I glance at Mack. He’s staring intently at Thessaly.
“The town,” she says. “Its name was not recorded. Of all the texts we have, not a single one mentions its name.” She breathes out heavily and rubs her knees then, fixing her gaze on mine, she whispers, “Where ashes turn to light.”
A blanket of ice creeps down my spine. A memory flashes in front of my eyes. A green sign. Late at night. At the side of the road. “Phoenix Falls?”
Thessaly nods slowly.
I turn to look at the others. All but Sam look practically gray with shock. Kole shakes his head. “How did we not know?” He laughs ironically and repeats himself, looking at Mack. “We believed Phoenix Falls was important but how did we not know about this?”
Before Mack can answer, Thessaly says, “There’s one more thing.” Tentatively, she turns to Mack. “Many bad things have happened at The Hollow.”
I frown, studying Mack’s face. Is Thessaly talking about Layla?
“Mack,” she says, “The Hollow was built on the remains of the original town square.” She swallows hard. “The witches who were burned were buried in its grounds.”
As a shiver rocks my body, I hear Tanner whisper, “Fuck.”
Mack doesn’t say anything. He’s barely moving. His breath is so shallow in his chest that I can hardly see it. When I look at his hand, it’s shaking. I reach for him and squeeze his fingers with mine.
He looks at me as if he’s surprised I’m speaking to him. “The Hollow…” He takes his hand back and pushes his fingers through his hair. To Thessaly, he says, “All the bad things that have happened there. The energy beneath it… that’s why Ragnor has to perform the ritual there.”
Thessaly sits back on her heels and presses her hands together, almost as if she’s praying. “Yes,” she says. “Yes, that’s why.”
Silence descends on the group. My skin is fizzing, my chest tight, my heart aching as memories that aren’t mine flash behind my eyes. I see my men, standing in front of me. I feel fire at my feet. I see a small bundle of rags, held tight in Luther’s arms. Our daughter.
I study each of the guys in turn, hoping just one of them might look like they’re together enough to tell me it’s all going to be all right. But the stories etched on their faces tell me we’re all feeling the same thing—shock, pain, grief.
Rising slowly, Thessaly pads quietly to the entrance of the tent. “I have given you all I can,” she says, her hand grazing Kole’s shoulder as she passes him. “What happens next is for the six of you to decide.”
She pauses, as if she’s about to say something else, then simply sighs heavily and leaves us alone.