The Coven

Solstice: Chapter 16

"It's not that simple-" He cut himself off and concentrated on the floor, someone was talking to him through his own hex bag. He frowned after a few moments and looked back to her, "Somehow your boyfriend managed to escape my guards." He touched his pocket again, "Find him, we'll bring him back to headquarters."

When his back was turned to her Lilly bolted. She ran through the crowd, hitting people, knocking waiters and sending crystal glasses shattering to the floor. The first person she ran into was Jake. He opened his mouth to talk to her but she grabbed him and kept running.

"What's going on?" He asked. Lilly looked around and saw more guards mobilizing on them.

"Where are the others?" She huffed as she tried to blend them into another group of people.

Jake shrugged, "Haven't seen Mason since he was dragged out of here, swearing like a sailor by the way. Ace, Hailey and Sage I haven't seen since-"

As though conjured by her name Sage was standing between them, fire in her eyes. "We have to go. We have to go now." Slowly they turned around to see guards from all the doors slowly closing in on them. Sage gulped and looked between Lilly and Jake. "Walk out of here like nothing is wrong."

"What is wrong?" Jake asked, but he didn't have a chance to hear the answer. Sage was dragging him out. As they walked through the crowds it was like more and more people were closing in on them. Lilly felt her chest growing tight.

They walked out the back doors, the moon now covered in dark clouds. Running into the darkness of the woods so many questions were running through Lilly's mind. Where are Hailey and Ace? Were they caught too? What happened to Mason? Where did he go?

They were deep into the woods now, no way the guards could have followed them without knowing the terrain. Hell, Lilly felt lost and she was with two people who had grown up playing in the woods.

After more than forty minutes wandering through the forest in heels and a now ruined dress they came upon a clearing, a black SUV waiting under the dark night.

"Who is-" Lilly began to ask when the windows rolled down and Hailey and Ace were sitting in the front seat. She felt a heavy weight off her chest knowing they were okay. She was about to ask about Mason when the back door opened and he stumbled out, tux ripped, covered in mud, face bruised and bloody.

"Mason!" Lilly ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, she felt him flinch, "Oh my god what happened?"

"Palmer's guys. He knew something was up and went muggle with his interrogation techniques." He breathed in deeply and nuzzled into her touch, "I'm okay. I've had worse."

Lilly didn't care, she held him tighter. Sage and Jake caught up and ushered them into the car. Before Lilly could even hand Sage her clutch, the other girl had ripped it out of her hands and was digging through it looking for the paper. "That's it? One page?"

"Front and back." Lilly was gently running her fingers through Mason's hair as he was resting his head on her shoulder, "I looked to the next page, it was another family."

Sage frowned and gently folded the paper and put it in her own clutch, "Ace, stop driving like an old woman and step on it. We don't have a lot of time."

Ace grumbled something and booked it down a road. There was lightening in the distance, the storm they have needed all summer was finally coming that night.

Inside Cleo's house they all sat around the table with the paper in the middle. Sage's eyes darted across the page quickly while everyone else tried to read over her shoulder.