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be
lost. ”
    I stared at the old witch with a mixture of
hate and desperation. My blood pounded in my ears as though I had
just run from Soul City.
    Ada closed her eyes for a moment, and when
she opened them again they were filled with a boundless
sadness.
    “I feel we are as much to blame as anyone.
We should have acted long ago. If we had, none of this wickedness,
this blackening of the world, would be happening. We should have
done something before it got out of our control.”
    I glowered at that. I wouldn’t think about
the black blight as something they couldn’t fix.
    “But you can stop it, right?” I said.
My fear rose inside me as I stared at Ada without blinking. “You
said it yourself. They’re not demons or witches, they’re men , men playing with magic. If they bleed, then we can kill
them.”
    I straightened up. My hands had balled into
fists of their own volition, and I eyed each witch, one at a
time.
    “We can kill them, and you can help us. You
can help us cure this infection. You’re witches. You have magic.
Surely you can figure out a way.”
    I stared at their expressionless faces, not
even one of them tried to answer me. I wanted to slap them, but
their united silence spoke volumes.
    The blood slowly drained from my face.
    “Jon…he’s…” I swallowed hard to fight
against the sob that threatened to overtake me. Pressing my
trembling lips together, I strained to compose myself. I couldn’t
break down. Not now, not in front of the witches. My pride wouldn’t
allow it.
    Rose finally met my gaze.
    “Where is Jon? Did you find him, Elena?”
asked Rose. Her voice was tight and anxious, and it was my turn to
look away as I blinked the moisture from my eyes.
    I shook my head. A throbbing pain seared my
throat, and the words seemed to burn out of me. “He’s in the
temple. He’s been infected. I couldn’t…”
    I couldn’t finish. Even then, I had to fight
the tears, but I wouldn’t let the witches see me cry. I felt the
brush of fingers, and Rose leaned over the table and squeezed my
hand. It happened quickly, but it meant the world to me.
    “I’m sorry about Jon,” said Ada. “He was a
kind soul and unique among men. But there’s nothing we can do for
him.”
    I heard Will and Leo release their breaths
behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to see the horror and
despair that was on their faces. It triggered something wild inside
me.
    I slammed my fist on the table, but only
Rose flinched.
    “You have to help him!” I
bellowed.
    I didn’t care if they could burn me on the
spot or turn me into a toad for being so impertinent. All that
mattered to me in that moment was Jon. If they could rid the world
of the blight and fight the black magic, I knew I could get Jon
back again. I would make them help me if it was the last
thing I did.
    “Please, I’ll do anything you ask,” my voice
cracked, and I didn’t care to hide my desperation. Blood pounded in
my veins as my knees buckled beneath me. “Anything. Whatever it
takes. Please.”
    The high witch fixed her eyes on me. The
lines around her eyes seemed to deepen with sadness. “It’s too late
for us,” she said softly. “We don’t have that kind of power, Elena.
None of us do.”
    “Not here, at least,” said Maya.
    I waited for her to elaborate, but she just
stared into space. Her silver eyes danced with something I couldn’t
see.
    “Where? Where can I find this power?” A
spark of hope flickered in me as I turned my attention back to the
high witch. “Tell me. Please tell me what you know.”
    Ada leaned forward. “The only way to defeat
the black blight, the only way to defeat magic, is with magic.”
    Magic . I knew she wasn’t referring to
my kind of magic. It had already proven to be inadequate against
the necromancers. But the witches had magic, too. I felt a small
spark of hope, but I could see in the deep lines on Ada’s face that
she was holding something back.
    “That kind of makes sense,” I said,