Change Read Online Free PDF Page A

He'd
promised Cora he would be fifteen minutes, and having pulled
himself away as he watched her sink further into her grief, he
planned on making it less than that.
    Yesterday had
been hard on Cora due to the fact that he’d gone to Clio’s funeral.
It had been a quiet affair, only Ember, Eli, Clay and himself had
been there to say goodbye to her. She had a nice plot underneath a
cherry tree which he was sure she would like. The vicar an elderly
witch named Fredrick Cunning with long grey hair and eyes of
twinkling blue, was no longer part of a coven, so Tabitha was able
to use him to conduct the service.
    The laws were
different for witches. How were you able to declare someone dead
who should have died decades before? Luckily, witches were placed
in all walks of life, so they were covered when a witch died. They
were able to adjust dates of birth and so forth to keep
unsuspecting humans from asking too many questions.
    Eli had taken
her red crystals to throw them upon her concealed body. Eli had
murmured something under his breath as he did it. His way of
respecting the woman he’d known longer than Jack. There had been no
wake afterwards. They had a funeral to attend the following
day.
    Leaving Cora,
even for a short while, had been one of the hardest things Jack had
ever done. Cora hadn’t handled the separation well. According to
Tabitha, she’d shut herself in the bedroom until he’d returned.
He’d found her whimpering on the bed with the covers thrown around
her shivering body.
    Jack took a
deep, shaky breath and gave his reflection a quick glance before
leaving the bathroom. Pulling on his black jacket, one that used to
fit snugly but now hung off him, he watched Eli enter the living
room. “I don't think she is going to get through this day,” Jack
murmured, hating that his voice was breaking already.
    “ She has you,
and she has us. We will make sure Cora and Ayden have the support
they need today.”
    He hadn't seen
Ayden since the Corenthio Coven’s visit . His last memory of the man had
been the moment Evander’s neck snapped and he’d crumbled to the
floor, sobbing. Ayden hadn't been present at Clio's funeral
yesterday. Jack didn’t blame him, he had so much more to deal
with.
    “ How is
Ayden?” Jack asked.
    “ Tabitha went
to see him yesterday after Clio's funeral. She choked up whilst she
told me. If this upset
    Tabitha enough
for her to struggle with her words, it’s bad.
    “ Laura was
taken back home, ready for today. Ayden didn’t want her and the
baby spending their final night on their own. Tabitha said he just
sat with Laura in the front room, holding her hand as his other
hand rested where the baby was. He never uttered a single word. He
never cried. Tabitha is concerned that the anger will eat at him.
He needs to grieve, but he won’t listen to anyone.”
    Jack’s heart
stopped, and then painfully stammered back to life. To even think
of the heartache Ayden must be going through was too much to bear.
He knew seeing Ayden would push him over the edge of his already
unstable control. “I'm going back.”
    Eli walked
over and hugged him. “Stay strong for her today.”
    He nodded, not
trusting his voice.
    Blowing out a
breath, Jack picked up the bag with his change of clothes for the
next couple of days. He couldn’t think beyond that; he didn’t know
what would happen to their coven now. He walked out of the front
door and back to Cora.
    Jack took the
key out of his pocket and unlocked the shop door, noticing that the
sign on the door still told customers they would be closed until
further notice. He didn't know if the shop would ever open again.
He couldn’t envision Cora feeling up to it. He also wasn’t sure if
Tabitha would open it up without her. Jack knew, however, that it
would be sad if this shop closed permanently. He stepped in,
turning to lock the door behind him.
    “ Don't lock
up. I’m leaving now anyway, Cora is ready upstairs.”
    He turned to
look at