Matt knelt down and cupped his mouth too, but for a different reason. This time, to make sure that if anything comes out after his stomach got twisted during the shift, Kira will not catch any of it. "Exactly how it was described in the books," he said, gagging. "That was awesome."

The place looks similar, yet nothing like before. It is definitely the same hallway, the same flooring, and the same church that they were both in just a few seconds ago, but this place was well lit, clean, fresh, and well kept. It was easy to see where the hallway was leading, with the light fixtures now working and shining light on the pristine white walls with borders of golden brown accents. The squeaky floors were now covered with a beautiful deep-red carpet, bringing more elegance to the room. Suddenly, the old, rotting interior transformed into a luxurious space. To be honest, Matt was expecting to see the same drab place, but it would be dimly lit by torches or fire lamps to give more of that spooky vibe.

Kira led them to an entrance where the remaining bell tower is in the real world, but they were not headed to the top to ring the bell and instead turned a corner to an upper deck where a large bamboo organ rests behind a row of seats for the choir. It was the perfect spot, overlooking the rows of pews below, now filled with people summoned for the coven assembly. Janina and Cedric should be somewhere down there. The rows cascaded up to an altar where a pyre was burning brightly, and around it were three chairs, occupied by what seemed to be elder witches cloaked in white robes trimmed with gold. All but the one on the right seat were left unoccupied. The middle seat seems to be the fanciest, with a carving of what looked to be a full moon in front of a six-pointed sun.

"For the Elders?" Matt whispered, crouching to hide himself behind the thick columns of the balcony, peeking at the gathering below. He read about it somewhere. A coven is usually led by the supreme witch, the most powerful, most respected, and most revered leader. Which is exactly why they occupy the fancy middle seat. Then comes a council of elders, either the founders of the coven or the most elder and wisdom-filled members. Usually rounding up in groups of three or six.

Kira nodded to confirm and then whispered, "The three seats represent the three elder families of the Tala O'Ra coven. There are two stars that orbit from a distance, guiding the sun that sits in the middle.

The fire burning inside the pyre began to burn brighter, and Matt paid more attention to it, only then realizing a giant stone, more like crystal, sitting in the middle of the pyre. It was the larger grimstone from which the stones on their rings were cut out. The entire room was silenced by the pillar of flames shooting from it, drawing everyone's attention to the front as a witch made their way to the podium to speak. It was someone Matt easily recognized.

"Isn't that the guidance counselor?" Matt did not know why he sounded surprised since she is Sara's aunt, which makes her a witch.

"Amelia Gutierrez," Kira said, her voice filled with disappointment. "This assembly is gonna be a long and boring one. I wonder where Tito Keiran is." Kira was right, although it was not entirely because of the agenda for the meeting but moreso because of Amelia's tone of delivery, the same tone that puts students to sleep during Monday flag ceremonies when it is her turn to make an announcement.

"So this is it?" Matt turned to Kira after a while, scratching his head. "They're just discussing neighborhood ordinances, magical supplies, and town rules. Isn't this basically like a town hall meeting?"

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Kira looked at him with a blank expression and said, "That's basically it," before bursting into controlled laughter so as not to make too much noise. Matt joined in on the giggles. "We have the Blood Moon Festival next year, and they're gonna talk about that later."

"So just program logistics. There's not even a cauldron in sight. You know I was expecting torches, chanting, long dark robes, and maybe human sacrifices if they're feeling evil."

"We're not that kind of coven, and your lola made sure of that."

"Yeah, lola was definitely a ball buster. You have no idea how many times I had to stand for hours balancing books on my hands when she caught me doing stupid things. Wait?" Matt caught himself out of reminiscing. "What do you mean she made sure of it?"

Kira looked surprised for a second but then realized, "I guess your uncle hasn't come around to telling you yet, has he? Lola Consuelo was the Supreme Witch of the Coven. For a long while. Until after... a few years back."

"Oh." Matt did not know what to say, but he managed a proud smile. If anyone is strong-willed enough to lead a coven of witches—an entire town's coven of witches—it would be lola Consuelo. "That makes a lot of sense. Do you remember her in one of these assemblies, I guess sitting in the middle chair of the elders?"

Kira shook her head. "I only heard of stories. By the time I was old enough to remember any of these meetings, my grandfather had already taken over the duties of being the Supreme."

Matt turned to look at the witch sitting on the middle chair and imagined his grandmother being there, looking pensive. But right now, there is already someone else occupying the chair, and underneath the white and gold cloak hiding the witch, Matt can only imagine Kira's grandfather gleefully eating a sponge cake, crumbs getting caught in his beard and moustache, like how Morgan once described him.

"Your lolo's pulling double duty, huh? Town mayor and Coven supreme," Matt said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kira groaned, taking offense over something Matt was unsure of.

"That your grandpa is awesome," Matt said without missing a beat, wondering why Kira was suddenly in the defensive and was looking at him with worry. "I mean, he's practically leading both sides of the town, magic and normal. That's gotta be difficult to manage, wouldn't it?"

"Oh," Kira replied, suddenly sounding apologetic. "Yeah, it gets pretty difficult at times... I'm sorry." She bowed her head and rested her back against the railing. "I'm just... I was expecting you to be mad that our family took everything that was your family's in the first place. The middle seat had always been occupied by a Franco."

Matt did not even think of it that way. The Lauzons had always been like family to them, however estranged they may have been in the past few years. He had always seen Kira as a cousin, if not a sister, when they were growing up. Betraying trust to get power, family would never do something like that to family.

"I don't really see it that way," Matt said after a long pause. He scooched over, moving closer to Kira, who seemed uneasy but willing to have him. "I remember my dad and your dad, how close they were. They're like Morgan and I, I think. Morgan’s my brother, and I would do anything to protect him. I know he is never going to hurt me.” It may have been the wrong thing to say knowing what supposedly happened that night at the Beacon Lodge. Matt may still believe in his parents' innocence, but for the family of the victims, it would be easier to blame it on someone. "I'm sorry. I know you won't believe me when I say they are innocent but---

Kira grabbed hold of his hand. Although she was already tearing up, she still managed an unflinching smile. "I don't think I believe that they are even guilty of that anymore. I am sure they would also do anything to protect each other."

Kira's words were sincere, and they overwhelmed Matt. A heavy burden that even Matt was no longer aware was pushing down on his chest was just lifted. It may have been there for a decade now, and he just got used to it, but now that it is gone, he feels like he can breathe just a bit better.