Rival Demons by Sarra Cannon Page A

horrible thing?" Lea asked. "What
was the name of the head witch? Do you know?"
    Andros shook his head. "No one survived to give
any specific details of what happened there that night."
    I shivered and glanced at Lea. Her eyes met
mine, and I know we were both thinking of the memory she'd shown me
of Aldeen, Kansas. The Order had killed everyone in the blink of an
eye. We knew what they were capable of, but how were we supposed to
fight back?
    "This happens in the human world too," I said.
For most of the night I had sat back and been a spectator, but this
was a conversation I was passionate about. "The Order gets rid of
anyone who opposes them, even if it's their own people."
    Andros looked confused. "You mean they kill
their own witches?"
    "Yes," I said. "Entire cities of them. I've seen
it with my own eyes."
    "Why don't your people fight back?" Ourelia
asked. "Are they also afraid?"
    "Well, fear is part of it, but it's also
misinformation," I said. "The Order doesn't exactly go around
advertising the fact that they killed one of their own covens.
Instead, they find an enemy to blame it on, making sure the other
towns hate whoever it is they think really did the killing."
    "Very smart," Andros said, rubbing his forehead.
"They build loyalty through their lies, using it to take out any
groups who oppose them."
    "Yes, and they get the rest of the covens to
rally against any enemy they choose, whether those enemies did
anything wrong or not," I said. "The Order is the Order, no matter
which side of the portal you're on. They hold all of the power
because none of their true enemies ever communicates or works
together."
    Maybe I'd had too much wine. My tongue was
loose, and I could feel my cheeks getting warm. Across the table,
Jackson tensed and tried to change the subject.
    "It's been a long night," he said. "And this
isn't really the time or place to be discussing politics and other
unpleasant things."
    "Perhaps you're right," Ourelia said, pushing
her half-eaten pie toward the center of the table. "Our evening so
far has been so nice, let's not ruin it with talk of the Order of
Shadows."
    With that, I knew my chance to speak my mind had
come and gone. There was so much I wanted to say. I wanted to ask
him why we couldn't find a way to work together? I wanted to
explain that there were other witches like me who would be willing
to risk their lives to expose the Order for who and what they
really are.
    But the conversation was already back to
pleasantries and smiles.
    I sat back in my chair, the bitter taste of
unsaid words on my tongue.
     
     
Almost Freedom
    Back in our suite, a set of wrapped presents
were waiting for Mary Anne and I. We found them on each of our
beds. Two identical small boxes wrapped in shiny red foil wrapping.
Excited to see what was inside, we both met up in the living room
and tore them open at the same time.
    Inside, we found a black armband with a red
dragon embroidered on it. Confused, I looked to Lea and Jackson for
some kind of explanation.
    "I told Andros you were having a hard time being
stuck in these rooms," Jackson said. "The dragon is his family's
insignia. If you wear that in the marketplace, people will know you
are there as friends of Andros."
    "Basically no one will mess with you," Lea said.
"Not that they probably would have anyway."
    "It's more for my peace of mind," Jackson said.
I noticed that with Lea in the room, he rarely met my eyes. "I'm
sorry you had to stay in here for so long, but now that we have the
council's approval to stay, things should be much easier."
    "Thanks," Mary Anne said. She hugged Jackson,
but I kept my distance.
    Jackson reached into his pocket and pulled out a
pair of matching black cards that were also decorated with a red
dragon. "Here," he said, handing one to each of us. "These cards
work like money down here. Or more like a credit card, I guess. I
mean, it's not free reign to go buy anything you want, but if you
go to the marketplace, you can at least