Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge 01 - Spell Bound by Jacob Z. Flores

to my father’s voice behind me. All the parents now stood on the back lawn with the still-hooded members of the Conclave behind them. None of them appeared pleased.
    “It’s time to go,” my father said. He jerked his head to the left. Pierce and Thad immediately obeyed and crossed the lawn toward the back door. The other children responded similarly to their parents’ gestures. Only Miranda remained at my side, but after a few moments, even she departed, though not before casting one final, remorseful glance at me over her shoulder. It was perhaps the kindest look she’d ever given me.
    When only my father and the Conclave remained, I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to quiet me. “Not. One. Word.”
    I nodded and walked past him and the robed figures. All nine members of our governing council turned their heads to watch me depart. I couldn’t see their faces, which were shrouded beneath the dark folds of their hoods, but I sensed the contempt with which they silently regarded me.
    But there was another emotion hanging in the air. Why did it smell like fear?
     
     
    T HE RIDE home was much different from the drive to the Stonewalls’. Instead of lecturing, my father remained quiet. He focused on the darkened road before him, and he gripped tightly onto the steering wheel. Why didn’t he just yell at me? That was certainly better than the silent treatment.
    It didn’t help that neither of my brothers would look at me. Both of them stared out the windows, distancing themselves from me and the wrath I’d face at home. When we finally pulled up into the circular driveway of Blackmoor Manor, Pierce and Thad hopped out of the car. They opened the huge mahogany front door of the house and dashed for the protection of the interior.
    I was left alone with my father, who, for the first time, stared back at me through the rearview mirror. “Meet me in the library,” he said before shutting off the engine.
    I nodded and exited the vehicle. I went inside and walked down the long, narrow foyer that was the hub of the house. Along the rear was the great hall that spanned all three levels of the structure. More than anything else, I’d rather be sitting at my spot on the third floor, sprawled on one of the bay window benches and taking in the view. I’d even settle for obsessing about the mystery that was Drake, as I had earlier that evening.
    But instead of going up the stairs, I took a left into the library.
    The room was quiet, and the sweet scent of cherry wafted in the air from the materials used to panel the room and construct the bookcases. I inhaled deeply, hoping the soothing aroma might help calm my nerves. It didn’t. I crossed the hardwood floor over to the carpeted reading area, where two chocolate leather couches sat in a V shape that opened toward the huge fireplace and the massive mirror that adorned the wall above it. Thanks to the reflective surface, the room seemed to be even larger than it already was. The bookshelves along the first and second floor appeared to go on forever.
    “Sit down,” my father said as he strolled into the room.
    I immediately complied, taking a seat on one of the leather couches. He sat in the red wingback chair diagonal to me.
    “I’m sorry,” I managed to choke out. I’d rather turn myself into a roach again than utter those two words.
    He sat back with a sigh. “And what exactly are you sorry about?”
    To be honest, I didn’t have a clear understanding of that. I knew I was in trouble. Beyond that I wasn’t really sure. I could only guess that our parents and our bosses had heard what I had said and viewed me as insubordinate.
    “Just as I thought.” He laced his fingers together and called my brothers. Within moments Pierce and Thad, ever-dutiful sons that they were, appeared at the library entrance. He gestured for them to take seats next to me, and they did as asked, but not before glancing at each other and then giving me the stink eye. They