Tegan scowled. “How do you know that?”
“Because he is my son, Phillip Bishop.” She rolled her eyes and it was the most motherly thing I’d ever seen. “I learned after he died of course, but he was but fifteen when he was Marked and like all Bishops went guns blazing into the war and died a few short years afterward. I asked him before you summoned me and he assured me the only thing he made time for other than war was…ensuring the Bishop line continued. As was his duty, of course.”
All the Bishops gawked – but they were trying not to laugh.
“And I would skip the one after Phillip as well.”
“Do I even want to ask?” Saffie grumbled.
“I have it on good record that you knew him, Ms. Proctor.” Elena smiled softly. “He was your nephew after all. Cyrus’s grandson a couple times removed but named after him.”
Saffie gasped. “Junior?”
Elena nodded. “He insisted that dealing with the Seelie was not Proctor business, for their Saraphina’s sake.”
Saffie’s eyes watered. “T-thank you.”
“Anything else?” Tegan asked with a wild expression.
“I do not believe so. But I wish you all the luck for you’ll need it if that’s where you’re going.”
Saffie closed her eyes and held her hand up. “Thank you, Elena. You may be at peace now.”
Elena held her friendly smile even as she faded into nothingness.
For a moment, we were all silent.
“Okay, that was sick.”
Everyone spun to look at me with wide eyes.
“What? Y’all, did you not see what I did?” When I got nothing but blank stares I threw my hands up. “We just got proof that when we die we all get to hang out together. How is that not the coolest thing you’ve ever had hard proof on?”
No one spoke but they all glanced around at each other with little smiles and flushed cheeks.
“So what do we do now?” Emersyn looked to Tegan. “Do we skip ahead? I mean, Cyrus would be the fifth Hierophant and we’re still in the 1700s.”
“We have no way of knowing who might’ve read the note or what may have prompted it. Hell, Bentley most likely read it, if I know my little brother like I think I do, and yet he told no one.” Tegan shook her head as she scanned the page in her book. “This could take forever but I think we have to be thorough or we’ll just end up back tracking anyway.”
“Can I try something?” Saffie asked softly, her eyes locked on something in the distance. “I have an idea.”
Everyone looked to Tegan.
Tegan looked to Tennessee.
Tennessee, who’d been quiet this whole time, just nodded.
“All right, Saffie.” Tegan closed the book. “What do you want to try?”
“This.”
Saffie dropped to her knees and slammed both hands into the ground. Golden glitter exploded like fireworks inside the flowery pentacle. Fairyflies bounced back and forth like they were in a pinball machine.
Golden light flashed, looking like a thick ray of sunshine pouring down from the night sky. Why isn’t it blue? I glanced around and found everyone else wide eyed or scowling – and that did not comfort me in any way. I preferred when they knew what was going on.
When the golden light faded…a person stood in its place.
But they were not glowing blue or transparent.
The entire Coven gasped.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Savannah
It was a woman. Like a real flesh and breathing woman. The other spirits had been that glowing blue transparent thing, even the ones we saw in Salem were…but this woman looked real. She looked alive. Hell, she had red freckles all over her pale face and her eyes were a dark green made up of other flecks of color. I could see all of that from a few feet away.
Ma’am, what is happening?
The woman took a deep breath and then grinned. Her long dark red hair swayed in the breeze. This chick looked straight up normal in her black leggings and oversized black Star Wars sweatshirt. She looked hella familiar too and that was really bugging me because I did not know many ghosts.
Saffie grinned and her shoulders eased. “Dr. Rachel Troy. You little liar.”
My jaw dropped. “WHAT?” This woman did not look dead or like anyone’s mother.
She chuckled and a wide cheeky grin spread across her face. She stepped forward and wrapped Saffie into a hug. Then she stepped back with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Saffie.”
I glanced around the yard and found The Coven staring at her with wide eyes and white faces. They all looked shaken and rocked, like they’d just seen a ghost – except this was probably the first that didn’t look like one. Their eyes were all glassy and cheeks were flushed.
Emersyn was the only person I could see who seemed as confused as I was. She scowled and eyed the woman.
Willow choked on a scream and it made me flinch. I looked over and she was weeping, rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks.
Wait a second, how do they know Dr. Troy the ghost?
To my surprise, it was Kessler who moved first. He jumped up and pushed through everyone, then stopped a few feet away from her. He gasped and his eyes widened, he actually stumbled back a step. “CASSANDRA?”
That was it. Like a bomb dropped. The Coven charged for her like this was the running of the bulls in Spain. The ground rumbled as they all ran straight for her at the same time.
“Cassandra?”
“CASSIE!”
“Cassandra!”
I heard that name over and over and over, from each of the Coven-members.
I don’t understand. Who is this? Why she have so many names? I am confusion.
And then they tackled her with excessive force and she was lost to the tide. I heard each of their voices yelling and shouting. Chutney and Willow giggled. Royce was squealing. Braison made this adorable little nervous chuckle. Kessler and Hunter towered over everyone with shit eating grins. Easton…well, I wasn’t sure what he was doing but there were sound effects. Lily had tears in her eyes as she stared at this Cassandra woman. Kenneth patted the top of her head. Constance pulled her in for another hug. Devon gave her like five high-tens in a row, which I thought might’ve been some inside scoop thing. Hell, even Daniel, Mona, Katherine, Lennox, and Warner were in there.
Emersyn and Deacon stood just outside the huddle holding each other and laughing. Whatever confusion Emersyn had before was clearly gone now, so I was on my own again.
I frowned and looked around – and then realized everyone hadn’t gotten in on the group hug. Tegan stood a few feet over from me, actually she hadn’t really moved at all. She had tears pooled in her eyes and her smile was wide as she gnawed on her thumbnail. Bettina and Jackson were straight across from me, on the other side of the huddle. Jackson chuckled and he had the cutest little dimples in his cheeks. Beside him, Bettina stared blankly and I wondered what she was thinking.
Cooper sighed and I hated that I could identify that simple of a sound. I also hated that I couldn’t stop myself from looking to my left toward the sound — and then I wish I hadn’t. His cheeks were flushed an adorable shade of pink and his green eyes were glassy. He was chewing on his bottom lip and staring at the pile.