Read Online Triumph of Chaos (Red Magic) by Jen McConnel - Free Book Online Page B

shifted his attention away from me, and I took a few deep breaths, trying to get my strange anger under control.
    “Who’s the other White you’ve got?” he asked Izzy.
    She winked. “Well, right now, it’s just you. But Dr. Farren is White, and I’m sure she’ll help us.”
    Justin glanced at me, and I managed a weak smile. “I’m sorry. My dad just made me really mad.”
    He nodded. “I get it. What would it mean for me to join your Coven?”
    Izzy and I looked at each other. “Um,” she began. “Well,” I said at the same time.
    Justin burst out laughing, and my frustration dissolved. “You guys really don’t have a plan, do you?”
    “Look, your patron’s the one who said the Coven would be a good idea. We’re winging it!”
    He nodded, his brow scrunched in thought. “Well, for starters, there would need to be an oath.” His eyes met mine. “For a group to work together, they would need some kind of common purpose and some kind of promise.”
    Izzy snorted. “Common purpose is easy. ‘Help us save the world from the crazy gods.’”
    Justin grinned at her. “Sounds simple.”
    “What kind of oath? Like a patron oath?” I asked, remembering my melodramatic dedicancy to Aphrodite. I shivered as I suddenly recalled the words of my broken vow: M ay I never rest if I break this trust with word or intent. I glanced up at the sky nervously. I hadn’t intended to break my vow to her, but when I had, I didn’t do anything to fix it. Would things be any different now if she were still my patron? Or would I still be just as screwed?
    Izzy pulled me out of my reverie. “Not that binding, but something we could say to vow that we won’t turn against each other. Something to make it safe for us to band together as a group.”
    She and Justin kept talking, but I was thinking about the vow I’d made so long ago. Aphrodite and I had parted on good terms, I guess, but I had to wonder: would a goddess ever forgive a Witch for breaking that kind of promise? I was vaguely aware of the plans Justin and Izzy were laying out, but I didn’t contribute. I was too busy worrying about the past.
    That night, I decided to try to contact Aphrodite. While Izzy was occupied explaining the Coven idea to Mom, Dr. Farren, and Lorna, I grabbed my backpack and climbed down the tree outside my window. Even though I’d learned that a Witch could contact just about any god she wanted anywhere in America, I didn’t think it would hurt to call Aphrodite with a little back-up, and the park near my house would be the perfect place to suck up to the goddess of love: it was a prime make-out spot, as I knew from shameful experience. Gingerly, I probed the memory of the night Justin and I broke up.
    We’d been there, in that park. I’d glamoured myself in an attempt to seduce him, but no matter what I did, Justin didn’t want to have sex. At the time, it had incensed me. When we got back together as a result of a love spell, I could have pushed the relationship in that direction, but something held me back. When I do finally find a boy who wants me like that , I promised myself as I looked up at the trees, I won’t use magic. I want to make sure it’s real .
    The sounds of couples kissing and cuddling drifted through the night air, and I sat down beneath an old oak tree, trying not to feel voyeuristic. I pulled the fractured mirror out of my bag and stared at the pieces. Aphrodite had given me that mirror when I dedicated to her, and when I was running around Europe with Marcus last winter, it had shattered. At the time, I’d assumed it simply broke in my bag from me being careless, but now I wasn’t so sure. What if the broken glass meant something? I swallowed nervously.
    I’d also brought a red candle, which I set on the ground in front of me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on fire, and after a minute, the candle sparked to life. I grinned: I had never tried to do something so precise before, and it was a thrill to use