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A chorus of cheers came from the crowd, but not everyone was so convinced. It was easy to see we still didn’t have their full approval.
“Give us a chance,” Lucas requested. “If we don’t change things to your satisfaction in a year’s time, we’ll hold a general election, and you can vote someone else in. What the priestesses did to hurt you is going to take time to recover from, but we will do everything in our power to change things for the better.”
“Why you?” a voice came from the crowd. “Why not hold a general election now?”
“The priestesses are gone, which leaves the council seats empty,” Lucas said. “We need coven members sitting on that council now, to help smooth things over before an election can be held. It’s too dangerous to organize an election when we need to be taking immediate action against this weapon that Margaret and Lilian have. All I’m suggesting is an interim council—nothing permanent. As for putting us on the council, we’ve been investigating the Waning since it started. We can help stop it, but we need more time. In the meantime, the priestesses possess a powerful weapon, but we have the power to protect you.”
“You’re trying to use fear to rule over us!” someone insisted.
Professor Richards climbed a few stairs and raised his voice. “If they’re as powerful as they say they are, they’re at risk to admit it. By being open with us, they’re putting themselves at risk, something they’d only do if they’re willing to risk it all for you.”
Chloe stepped forward. “There are two sides in this war that have extreme power. Us, and them. I used to be on the priestesses’ side. I was raised to believe in everything my grandmother stood for. But I know who she truly is now. If you want a full council, you need Nadine on it, because she’s the only Curse Breaker we have. For that council to accomplish anything, you need her working with people who aren’t going to stab her in the back, as the priestesses have done to each other so many times before. Everyone in this coven knows the beef Nadine and I had with each other, so if I can align myself with her, so can you.”
I held my head high and spoke to the coven. “This isn’t about me, but about us, together. It’s about who will stick up for you in the face of danger. Lilian and Margaret wouldn’t stand and fight against the gates of hell for you. They’d turn and run. I wouldn’t, because I believe in this coven, and I believe in you! They’d sacrifice any one of you for a shot at power, but we will go up against them and give ourselves to this coven, even if it means giving up our lives.”
Half the crowd looked ready to grab their pitchforks and march alongside us, while the other half looked like they wanted to just go home. They were sick of fighting, and I understood them far too well.
“I can’t promise that no one will get hurt,” I added. “But I can promise the coven will survive if you follow us. Let us go up against the priestesses, so you can live your lives in peace. We’re not asking for power over you. We’re asking for your help and cooperation. We’ll get through this together, but we need to come together, because it’s up to all of us now to do the right thing.”
“Come together!” Professor Richards repeated.
Professor Loren shot him a glance. “Come together!” she called.
Slowly, more and more coven members began repeating my words. It was one by one at first, until voices overlapped one another. They soon became one, a massive crowd chanting as if they were one voice.
“COME TOGETHER! COME TOGETHER!”
There was no denying the coven’s vote. They wanted us on the council—for now, at least. It was a tall order to fill, and we’d made a lot of promises, but I was wholly confident that one way or another, we would fulfill each and every one of them.
“Now go home,” Lucas called out to the crowd. “Be with your families tonight. We will begin our work in the morning.”
The crowd began to disperse.
Professors Richards and Loren approached Professor Wykoff. “Let us take you home,” Richards offered.
“I’d like that very much,” Professor Wykoff said weakly.
As they walked off, a small group of people from school approached. Samantha and Gregory were among them, both necromancers from Lucas’s classes. Brayden held Gregory’s hand, looking nervous, and Alex followed alongside them.
Gregory stepped forward. “We want to help.”
Lucas furrowed his brow. “I thought you joined the priestesses. I figured you’d be an Executor by now. Why do you want to help us?”
“I did what I thought I had to do to survive,” Gregory admitted. “I never wanted to be a part of their cult, but we knew we’d eventually hang if we didn’t comply. I’d rather follow you—not because I think it will save me this time, but because your cause is something I’d actually die for.”
Lucas looked toward Samantha, his eyes searching her arm for the mark of the Chosen. There was no mark to be found. “You never joined them?”
She shook her head. “I was going to, but then I thought of you and Nadine, and how much you fought against this. I just knew you’d be back, and I told myself once you came, I was going to fight on your side.”
Lucas hesitated, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to get more people involved. We weren’t asking for soldiers, but we needed support. We couldn’t do this alone.
“All right,” Lucas finally said, keeping his voice low. “We need necromancers to help move bodies. There are ten Executors inside Octavia Hall, and three priestesses in the courtroom. Gregory and Samantha, you need to get rid of them so nobody tampers with the corpses. Move them to unmarked graves and don’t tell anyone what you’re doing.”
Gregory gave a firm nod. “We’re on it.”
The two of them hurried inside the courthouse.
“Alex, Brayden, I have a special job for you,” Lucas said. “I portaled a dozen Executors across town, which means they’re still roaming around. They’ll kill us the first chance they get. I need you to find as many people as you trust to work with you to hunt those Executors down. We’ll lock them in the city jail tonight and decide what to do with them later.”
