Book 18: Dark Magic

Fallon

Stella shoves open the exterior door of a large, circular building deep in the forest surrounding her village. It’s dark and damp with the rain brushing over the domed ceiling in relentless sheets that send deep vibrations through the eerie space. 

“Take these matches and help me light these candles. They’re hundreds of them, and we need them all burning.”

I’m not even looking at her when she slides a matchbook into my hand. The black cloak I’m wearing weighs down my shoulders as I slowly drink in the room when the first candles burn to life. A sweeping, faded mural expands across the walls. A battle, I think. Maybe an entire painted history of this coven. It’s more than that, I realize, as Stella moves around the room lighting candles. 

“Whoa,” I murmur, staring up at the mural painting the ceilin