by T S Paul
Readying my own Magick, I whispered a thank you to my oldest friend. “Thank you. You just saved our lives. Remind me to order you a pizza later.”
“With anchovies and feta cheese? And can I get that guacamole dip too?” he answered. I could tell he was excited.
Remembering the last time he ordered such a culinary monstrosity and the gas attack later, I shrugged. “You and Chuck can have whatever. First we have to kill the Witches.”
“Nice try. How long have you been using persuasion on your little club here? Fifty years? A hundred? They’re good little servants now,” I said to Bethany.
The cloaked Witch motioned her two minions forward. “Get rid of her now!”
Montgomery and Fitzgerald moved forward with blank expressions. Both men raised their hands in unison they launched fireballs directly at me.
Dodging left, I hit the ground and from a prone position fired back. One ball of ice hit Montgomery’s shield and the other just clipped Fitzgerald. These were both trained Witches, more than a century older than I was. At full power I would be hard pressed to take both of them.
Flipping back up to my feet, I summoned a lightning bolt. While it was striking Montgomery, I fired a flurry of shots at Fitz. Neither hit slowed them down. Both returned fire.
My shields absorbed most of the impact, but they were still pushing me backwards. I needed to preserve my power for both Bethany and the Dragon. Almost at wits’ end, I had a sudden inspiration. Like a light clicking on in my brain, I remembered the battle at Fort Sumter.
I was standing inside an enormous Earth Elemental across several Ley lines. There was power available to me that could destroy a city. I just needed to access it. At Sumpter, I’d tricked the Demon Lord with misdirection and he got sloppy. Would a similar trick work here? I wasn’t sure if they’d be expecting it or not.
Mentally leaning on my bracelets, I sent them the plan. Communication with the semi-autonomous items had improved in just these last couple of days of training. The more I understood them the more they melded with me.
Throwing my hands skyward I used my Magick to pull. Elemental lightning rained down upon the men in front of me, their personal shields lighting up like domes. Even as the electrical energy swept down, I used my connection to the Earth to liquify the ground beneath the men. They might be shielded from above, but had they planned for below as well?
“Way to go, Agatha!” Faith cried as she and the rest of the militia stepped out of the woods. They began firing at the surrounding Zombies almost immediately.
Both council mages slid into the ground as it opened up beneath them. Only the tops of their heads were showing as I solidified the ground. A skilled Witch, fully in control of their Magick, could produce breathable oxygen. But they were under such strict control, I doubted they could do it.
“Damn you! Damn your whole family. You Blackmores are nothing but trouble!” Bethany screamed out. Throwing off her shroud, she exposed her face.
Scars I’d expected. Grandmother had said as much when we talked of the Council. Bethany earned her position by taking on the biggest baddest foes the Council came up against. But at a horrible cost. Few Witches alive had seen her face until now.
“Take a good look at what power costs, for it will be the last thing you ever see!” Bethany cried out even as she threw literal flames at me.
“I thought you said this town was boring?” Alex asked Madeline as he took out yet another Zombie.
After the road encounter, the former Arcane group crept into town to find it mostly deserted. Except for Zombies dressed like refugees from a Roman film. Those were everywhere.
“It was the last time I was here. Look out!” Madeline whipped out her pistol, hitting the creature behind Alex moments before it attacked him.
“What is that thing?” Alex spun around. The creature looked like something Hollywood would dream up, all teeth and claws.
“Not a clue, but there’s a lot of them around here.” Madeline pointed to more of the monsters mixed in with the Zombies. “Kill them all and let the Gods sort them out. Zombies aren’t redeemable. Trust me on this.”
Alex chuckled as he started blasting the creatures. “You’ll have to tell me how you know that someday.”
“Some things are better off left unsaid.” Madeline took a modified combat stance and started taking Zombies down as if she were shooting targets at the country fair.
Rob crouched behind an abandoned police car, taking the occasional shot at the monsters attacking the group. “This car’s got a radio in it. Do you want me to try and find the locals?”
“Go for it. We’ll cover you,” Amber stated. Concentrating, she formed a half shield around Rob and the exposed car.
Betsy and Beatrice were keeping count of their kills. Like a certain elf and dwarf from their favorite series of movies, the two were counting out loud as they fired the large variety of weapons they claimed to have found just lying around.
“...twenty-five. Right in the head where it counts,” Beatrice said as she dropped her magazines and quickly reloaded.
Betsy snorted, claiming thirty as she fired long range at the approaching horde. Both women were stretched out over an abandoned pickup truck.
Rob fiddled with the radio until he found an active channel. “...town center. We’ve detected at least one high-powered enemy Witch there. He or she must be eliminated. Do you read?”
The radio squealed in response as words blasted out of it. “...Zombies attacking...Will try to...main…attack.”
“I’ve got something,” Rob yelled as he quickly explained what he’d heard. “Something in the air is interfering with the radio.”
“Would Magick do it?” Amber asked him as she formed another fireball in her hands. She wasn’t Witchborn, so making them was a lot harder to do for her.
“Modern equipment is really hard to jam without specialized equipment, but if there was enough electrical energy in the air…” As if to help him demonstrate, a sudden burst of lightning showered from the sky a short distance away. Rob pointed. “That could do it.”
“I guess we should’ve called ahead. Someone’s throwing one hell of a crazy party out here!” Madeline exclaimed. “Town center is a block or so away. Can you hold your shield long enough for us to run for it? We’re here, let’s get some cake.”
“Sure, it won’t stop bullets, but these things aren’t shooting at us.” Amber slipped her guns into her holsters. “Tell me when.”
“Alex you lead, the Bs and I will bring up the rear. If you have to engage, do so. But don’t wait for us. Understood?” Madeline ordered. During the road trip, the now former FBI Director had taken command of the mixed group.
“I don’t like it, but ok, let’s go!” Alex cried out as he started to run.
Chuck was a very large cat resembling a mountain lion. It was his secondary form. Since forming the small Pack with Agatha and Catherine, he’d discovered he could vary his looks somewhat. Usually he was a mountain lion, but once he changed into an actual lion. The African kind. At the time it blew his mind. Agatha explained it away as Magickal association, but it was still really cool. In this form, he was faster and stronger than a human. Zombies didn’t hold up well against two-inch claws.
He’d been acting as second to the Pack leader as she ripped into the Zombies like a Buzzsaw race. Bit and pieces of the dead were flying everywhere. That was until the old Witch showed up.
Cat in her gigantic Sabertooth Tiger form would attack, and somehow the old woman would anticipate it.
Stalking around to the left of her, Chuck attacked even as his leader hit the Witch from the front.
Crash! Chuck felt his body hit the storefront door and fly through it before he realized the bolt of lightning had hit him! Staggering to his feet, he watched Cat shift again. This time into her warrior form.
Like a fighter in the ring, Cat threw punch after punch at the old Witch, but nothing connected. Each time she hit, the woman zapped her with an e
lectrical strike. It hurt like hell, but Cat could not, would not, give up. Even more Zombies were filling the town and this woman was helping them.
Leaping from the doorway, Chuck tried catching the woman again only to be thrown sideways. His claws were no match for her shields.
Blam! Blam! Blam!
Three shotgun blasts in succession hit the Witch’s shield suddenly, coinciding with Cat’s attack. While the shield stopped them, one of Cat’s three-inch claws swiped across the old woman’s chest, shredding her shirt.
“Do it again,” Cat growled, not bothering to look behind her.
A flurry of bullets started hitting the Witch from all sides. Cat judged the distance and pulled a fake out worthy of a high school quarterback. She charged the woman head on then suddenly swerved, attacking her rear instead. Claws hit meat and the woman went down. Cat’s ensuing roar echoed throughout the town square.
There was no time to celebrate, though. Zombie monsters and humans were now massed for an attack.
Chuck shifted to his warrior form as well, thanking the women for their help. “Thanks.”
“We heard you were throwing a party and we thought we’d lend a hand,” Madeline replied. “Where’s Agatha?”
“No idea,” Chuck growled. He looked up at the sound of an explosion coupled with a roar. Pointing toward the Garden, he changed his mind. “That way.”
Bethany’s face looked as though it had melted to her skull. It was a death’s head look. Her eyes were Demonic in nature, like looking into the pits of Hell. “I cannot believe I once thought you’d join us. The Master planned it, you know. It was way too easy to convince Camilla to turn against you. She had the power. Did you know that?”
“What power?” I shouted. With two enemies in front of me I needed time to plan.
“Necromancy. It’s so rare they don’t even teach it. Automatic death sentence.” Bethany glanced up at Esta atop the Dragon. “That one up there has to use a cursed book to gain the power. But Camilla, she was the answer to our dreams. Can you imagine the power of a Demon Lord with the ability to raise the dead? We could’ve ruled this place without the aid of the Empire . And you, you ruined everything,” Bethany growled. “I should’ve allowed them to drown you at birth!”
“So glad you didn’t. Now I get to kill you too,” I replied. This woman was alluding to the conspiracy Grams and I had put together. But we thought it was just Camilla. We never considered the Dragons, Demons, and the Witches Council.
Bethany laughed. “Simple child. I was killing Witches before your mother was born. Did you think this a spur of the moment plan? So many pieces needed to fall, and it’s not over yet.”
Crossing her arms, the Chief Councilor threw a double lightning bolt straight at me.
Reacting instantly, I caught one blast with a force shield and deflected the other. Zombies started moving in my direction as Esta got into the act.
“Attack and kill her,” Esta directed. The Zombie Dragon that the Strega Witch rode upon opened its mouth, shooting a blast of green fire at me.
I dodged to one side, drawing my twin pistols. Rolling to my knees, I opened fire on both the Dragon and Bethany. The militia troops opened up as well, but on the smaller Zombies.
My rounds bounced off Bethany and had minimal effect on the Dragon. It was already dead; I couldn’t just kill it again.
“Now you and the rest of your cursed Coven dies with you!” Bethany screamed. The Council member muttered a death curse and threw a glowing ball of green lightning at me.
Throwing up my hands instinctively, I directed everything I had to my shields. The lightning hit engulfed me and everything within twenty feet of me in green crackling bolts of electricity.
The blast washed over me like a wave at the beach. I could feel the power as it tried to kill me. A subtle voice in my head asked a question of me. “Are you prepared to fight for your people, even at the cost of your own life?” This wasn’t either of the bracelets, but something much more ancient than them. My task in life was to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. It was why I’d agreed to join the FBI and the Magical Division. Too many of those with power took advantage of the weak or unprotected. I wanted to help. “Then know you are my chosen, the first in a new order. Guardian of the Garden and of your people,” the voice explained. “Take of my power and learn.”
“And that is that,” Bethany concluded. “Now we can finish off the town and make way for our lord.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself,” Esta replied. “She survived.”
Standing tall, I looked at both Witches and smiled. “Nice try.”
Bethany looked in my direction to see me surrounded by a bright glowing dome of power. After two long years of discussion and work, the Guardian bracelets were now a part of me, and me of them. Whatever or whoever that voice was, it had energized my power.
“Hmm. Montgomery was correct, then. Too bad he’s not here to see it. The bracelets are in your possession. But do you know what they are?” Bethany asked even as she renewed her attacks against me. Fire, lightning, and wind began hitting the glowing dome.
Concentrating, I formed ice balls with flaming centers. Just as I was about to throw them I saw something completely unexpected. Smiling, I tossed them.
In her years of traveling with Agatha’s team, Anastasia had never seen a battle quite like this. Agatha was going toe-to-toe with the leader of the American Witches Council and was holding her own! Ana could tell she’d been spending too much time on the bus, to not have noticed the increase in Agatha’s power. Even Verity might not have survived that last blast.
Which Witch to kill. That was the question for Ana. The one on the Dragon controlled the Zombies. If she died, they would all stop, which would give the defenders a chance. There was a second army on the other side of the gate. Ana doubted Marcella and her merry band of defenders could handle them and the Zombies combined.
Using speed that only an Elder Vampire could possess, Anastasia broke cover and charged into battle. Vampires weren’t like Weres. They couldn’t shift into other creatures, but they did possess claws and very sharp teeth. Dodging Zombies left and right, she jumped onto the Dragon from the rear and climbed toward the sweet spot between its shoulder blades. The spot where the last Strega Witch sat.
“Goodbye, my pretty. Time to join the rest of your sect,” she whispered into Esta’s ear even as her sharp claws ripped out the Witch’s throat.
Blood bubbled and sprayed from Esta’s arteries even as Ana ripped her head off of her body. Any other time and place, the Vampire might have lingered to enjoy the moment and the spray of blood, but the Dragon beneath her staggered and started to fall. Ana jumped and hit the ground running.
All around her, Zombies were falling. Without Esta’s power to keep them upright, they relaxed back into death.
The job the Goddess had given Ana was complete and self-preservation was kicking in. Only a stupid Vampire played with combative Witches and Dragons.
In all her years of traveling with the team, she’d never seen a battle quite like this. Agatha was going toe-to-toe with the leader of the American Witches Council and was holding her own! Anastasia could tell she’d been spending too much time on the bus to not notice the increase in her power. Even Verity might not have survived that last blast.
Which Witch to kill was answered for her to figure out. The one on the Dragon controlled the Zombies. If she died, they would all stop, giving the defenders a chance. There was a second army on the other side of the Gate. Ana doubted Marcella and her merry band of defenders could handle them and the Zombies combined.
Using speed that only an Elder Vampire possesses, breaking cover Anastasia charged into battle. Vampires aren’t like Weres. They cannot shift into other creatures, but do possess claws and very sharp teeth. Dodging Zombies left and right, the Vampire Elder jumped onto the Dragon from the rear climbing toward the sweet spot between its shoulder blades. The spot where the last Strega Witch sat.
“Goodbye my pretty. Time to join the rest of your sect,” Anastasia seductively whispered into Esta’s ear, even as her sharp claws ripped out her throat in a bubbling spray of blood.
As an afterthought Anastasia ripped Esta’s head right off her body just to make sure of her death. Any other time and place, she might have lingered to enjoy the moment basking in the spray of blood, but the Dragon beneath her was staggered and started to fall over. Jumping, she hit the ground running.
All around the field Zombies were falling. Without Esta’s power to keep them upright, they relaxed back into death.
The job the Goddess had given Ana was complete and her own self-preservation was kicking in. Only a stupid Vampire played with combative Witches and Dragons.
Esta was dead!
I couldn’t believe it when Anastasia appeared behind the Strega Witch. Her death made all the Zombies on the battlefield stop moving. Even the Dragon was collapsing, its rotting body nearly landing atop Bethany.
Completely distracted by the corpse, Bethany didn’t see my flaming balls of ice before they hit her broadside. First the ice shells hit, stunning her. Shattering like eggshells, they released the liquid fire within, frying the evil Council leader like a chicken.
“Aiyeee!” Bethany screamed as her clothing, hair, and body caught fire. Waving her arms, she tried to pat the fire out but only made it worse. The liquid flame dripped off of her, setting the grass and other plants alight.
Reaching upward with a closed fist, I made a pulling motion. Another large barrage of lightning cascaded downward, zeroing in on the burning woman. I couldn’t take any chances this time. One thing Chuck and Bill had taught me: Never leave an enemy behind you.
