by N. J. Cooper
“This is my first time in the witch community. Is there any reason this house stands out from the others? Or this street?” Kyla asked. Sky frowned and shook her head along with Wyatt. They were meant to be twins, but Kyla could only see vague similarities. Their faces held the same wide set structure with green eyes, but Wyatt had sandy blonde shoulder length hair that he either tied back or swept back with a run of his hand. It was always a scruffy look for him that matched the casual clothes he wore over a lean, muscular body. Sky stood out next to him with her bright red hair that was wildly curly. They both held pale skin, but Wyatt’s held a sun kissed glow from his enjoyment of the outdoors, that Sky lacked. She also altered in style, opting for a more gothic look that always made her look opposite to the usual people within their own community of sorcerers and sorceresses, the females always wearing something sparkled or glittery as the implied dress code.
“The witch community is very introverted. They stick to their own kind. Don’t usually travel into the city, where it isn’t segregated between species. They usually just use their community facilities for their needs. It’s unusual that a dark magic coven would practice here. The centaur guard would be able to detect that kind of use. Usually the dark ones prefer to gain access to the human realm and use it from there since the werewolf guard aren’t as in tune with the dark magic and find it harder to monitor.” Wyatt admitted. Kyla frowned as Shemar moved forward.
“The King has ordered a cut down on portal use and human realm access. Ever since the law change to allow hybrids and interspecies relations to live in the human realm as long as they abide by theirs and our laws, the King has limited the supernaturals allowed through. He was worried they would go after the hybrids. He is pretty much only letting through interspecies couples, who have decided to marry in the human realm. So, the witches may not have been able to get through.” Shemar offered his insight. Kyla frowned.
“What about the rifts? Can’t they get through them?” Kyla asked. Shemar nodded.
“Yes, but they would have to use a full moon to have enough power. Also get past the centaur and werewolf guard, same as the portal.” He replied.
“Unless they never tried to get to the human realm. If they were working for Byron, maybe he needed them here to do their magic. I mean you’re here and it’s where Onyx is trying to get to, so he probably needed them on this side.” Sky theorized. Kyla sighed. All more theories that they couldn’t confirm. Byron was all over the place. Onyx was silent in the human realm. The werewolf guard were on the lookout, being vigilant with their guarding of the portals ever since he got through but there was no news, or even a hint of where he was. Kyla bit her lip thinking, over the witches, her vision and Byron, frustrated at the lack of connections she could make when Zarek came running back over.
“The witch who lived here, wasn’t one from the coven we just faced. That coven went rogue weeks ago. Left their homes and have been missing since then. The one that lived here, was one of the more talented witches in the community. Anette Wilding-an Elder. She lived here with her husband and both are missing. The neighbour said their lair is in the basement. Damn witches are so introverted that they never reported the disappearances.” Zarek shook his head. Kyla frowned.
“If they are so introverted, then why did they spill the beans to you so readily?” Kyla asked.
“The witches are scared. A darkness has moved over their lands. They can all feel it. Those three we faced, have been trying to convert them but the witches here, are loyal to my father. Now they are frightened that they will be the next to disappear. Orion has gone to report the news to my father and place more guards here for protection. The witches have all banded together with the warlocks in the next town over, so the protective magic is strong, but they feel the darkness looking for a weak link, which means we have to get this resolved quickly. C’mon we need to check the lair.” Zarek informed before moving to the three broken steps up to the blackened porch. Kyla followed as Wyatt did, but Sky’s pale face had taken on a sickly shade. She clutched her stomach, wincing without speaking. Kyla felt the tug of Sky’s pain and turned, by her side in an instant.
“Sky? What’s wrong?” Kyla asked, holding her friends shivering body. Weakness was not something Sky usually succumbed to, so when she openly showed her pain-something was wrong.
“I can feel it. The darkness here. It’s calling me through the shadow world and it’s strong. Kyla, I can’t stay here. I have to get back to the ward. I’m sorry.” Sky winced again speaking with a breathy voice. Kyla looked around for a physical manifestation of the darkness that she could lash out on and help Sky feel better, but there was nothing. It was a threat in the air that refused to make itself known.
“It’s okay, Sky. We can handle this. Go with Shemar, he’ll take you back.” Kyla replied with understanding. Sky shook her head though.
“They can’t know that I left again, or they’ll put me in isolation. The worst place to be because I need to be around light creatures as much as possible. In the ward, the shadow world is dull because of the protections on it to hold the supernatural creatures in, so it’s easier to resist. I have to go back through the shadow realm to get back, so I’m invisible and get there quicker. It’s how I always get in and out. I’ll be okay Kyla. I’ve got help on that side. I told you, Kasyn helps me when I’m over there. He gets me through with as little touching of the realm as possible.” Sky breathed. Kyla frowned.
“Every time you go in there, every interaction brings you closer to being pulled there for good, Sky. Even communicating with this Kasyn guy, can make the lure of darkness stronger. The amount of time you can spend away from the dullness of the hospital, is already lessening with each time you’re out. Sky just go with Shemar. He’ll get you in and out, with an excuse of needing you for royal duties or something.” Kyla begged. Sky frowned, her eyes looking past Kyla to Wyatt who was stopped on the top stair, frowning harshly with fear bright in his eyes. She gave a resigned sigh.
“I’m sorry. I have to do this my way. I trust Kasyn and I won’t give into the darkness. I’m strong enough. I’ll see you next time you need me to save you.” Sky smiled half-heartedly before reaching for an invisible hand and disappearing before their eyes. Kyla cleared the lump in her throat as Wyatt cursed under his breath. He shook his head and moved into the house behind Zarek, without looking back. Kyla bit her lip then followed her friends into the house.
Water dripped from the flawed roof, over the ash that matted in the dark, patterned carpet. Charred Victorian furniture was overturned as crystals, candles and goblets of all shapes and sizes littered the living area. Kyla followed Zarek and Wyatt through the dark hallway, finding the cupboard under the stairs that led them down to the basement. The centaurs couldn’t enter the house, as they hadn’t been invited but she could feel Shemar trying to mind link with her, so he could keep an eye on them. Kyla allowed the link then looked around the lair, that had been left untouched by the fire. Kyla gasped as her eyes were drawn to the far wall. They had found the missing witch and her husband. They were dead.
~ 3 ~
Blood leaked from every orifice of the dead witches’ frightened, still faces. Eyes wide, bodies limp against the wall that shackled them to their fate. Black veins stretched under their skin, as blood still dripped from where the iron clamps bit into the flesh of their wrists and ankles. They weren’t the only imperfections in the room. It had been completely overturned. Emptied. Every shred of evidence, of the witches they had been, was gone. Zarek walked forward to the dark table where a small grey bowl sat, a spoon hanging out of it with a black, mushed liquid falling from its tip. He cursed as he stepped back.
“Belladonna. Don’t touch it.” He warned through clenched teeth. Wyatt frowned.
“They were poisoned? That makes no sense. Why didn’t he kill them and take their sources like the others?” Wyatt questioned as they looked around the array of bare furniture for a clue. Kyla moved around a shelving unit, gaspin
g at what she found. Two more bodies. They were tied to chairs, bound in rope, viciously beaten. Puffed faces made them hard to identify but Zarek stepped back, gasping as he figured it out, before the rest.
“These two, died human. How is this possible?” Zarek asked out loud but no one knew the answer. A pull in Kyla’s stomach lured her back to the other side of the room, back to the Elders. She moved back towards them warily. They had been light, the broken gems from their sources lay scattered over the floor, under their feet but she could feel they hadn’t given in, they still felt peaceful, untainted by the darkness that the other two bodies held.
Kyla didn’t know what drew her in, why she felt like it was a good idea to reach out and touch the dead body of the witch, but she did, gasping as her mind was thrown through a blurring mess into a vision.
“We are loyal to his Majesty. We will never join your cause, follower. Do what you will.” Anette told defiantly, from her position on the wall, shackled next to her silent husband who appeared to be bleeding out. Their sources were still in-tact, light shining from the matching rings on their fingers. Byron was mixing the poison in the same bowl they had found left behind, as Anette spoke. He placed it down and looked towards the other side of the room. A vampire came from around the shelving.
“Their sources are darkened, sir. Ready for harvesting.” The vampire informed rigidly. Byron smiled and turned back to Anette.
“I’m going to ask you one more time witch. Use their souls to turn your magic for our True King’s benefit or I’ll kill you all.” Byron offered; his usual smirk hidden as he picked the bowl up again, cleverly covering his own hands with gloves.
“King Carrick is our True King. We live in peace under his rule. There will never be an excuse for what you have done. We don’t have to be creatures of darkness and it is ones like you, who are ruining everything for us. I will never support that. Kill me.” Anette bit back with a loyalty that was unrivalled, except by the angry face she stared into. Byron looked around the lair that was packed to the brim of grimoires, potions and lockboxes.
“Pack all this shit up. This witch isn’t going to help and we’re on a deadline. That list won’t complete itself. I’ll deal with this.” Byron smiled before crushing their rings in his angry fists. He progressed to shovelling the poisonous flowers into her husband’s mouth, while Anette watched him choke on his own insides, before meeting the same fate. Kyla turned away; her eyes clenching shut at the couple gripping hands in their final moments.
Byron turned and looked straight through her. He walked back to the shaking woman and boy who were on the chairs, beaten and bloody. Their power sources were dark though, completely confusing her. They didn’t look evil, only terrified.
“Please, we did what you asked. We turned our magic. What more do you want?” The woman pleaded. A blindfold prevented her or the boy from seeing Byron’s evil smirk.
“Oh dear. It seems I may have misled you somewhat. You see, you were important but only as bait to catch the big fish we needed. You and your little twerp here, don’t carry nearly enough magic to carry out the spells we need. Two Elders though? Now that would have been perfect. Unfortunately, things have not gone the way they were meant to, rendering you useless. Well, not completely. Your dark magic is now two more sources to add to the collection.” Byron smirked. The mother picked up on his agenda quickly, knowing he had to kill them to take the source, unless they gave it up willingly.
“No! Please! You don’t have to do this! Just let me and my son go, we’ll give you the talismans and become humans! Please?!” The woman begged. Byron narrowed his eyes.
“Okay.” He grinned, snatching their necklaces from the necks of their shivering bodies, before slicing through their throats in one swing of her falcon sword. Kyla clenched her fists at the deceitful move and shuddered as she thought of how far along, they seemed to be with their plans. That he and Onyx had a plan at all. She had known to some extent, but she had hoped they were still scrambling like she was. Apparently not.
Kyla snapped back into her mind, blinking furiously at the devastating murders she had witnessed. Tears pooled in her eyes, as a tightness in her chest had her swallowing hard. She looked back at Anette and her husband with a constricting sadness on her heart. Zarek placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She spun to him.
“I saw what happened. I’m not sure if I understand it all though.” Kyla started, then proceeded to tell them exactly what she had seen. By the horrified look on Zarek and Wyatt’s face, it meant something more than she had comprehended. “Well?” She prompted when they remained shocked.
“This is…a new kind of evil.” Zarek whispered. Kyla frowned.
“I don’t understand.” She admitted. Wyatt began unclasping the witches from the wall as he spoke.
“Kyla, light sources can’t be stolen. That’s why he couldn’t take the magic from Anette and her husband, only destroy it. But if a witch turns it dark first, it can be stolen. It’s unheard of to ever go to this extent though.” Wyatt explained as he laid Anette next to her husband softly, carefully avoiding the leaking poison.
“This list that he mentioned; if he has a list of all the Elders and is going after them, giving them the same ultimatum; to either turn dark or die, then they are all in danger. Especially since he is targeting weaker witches as back-ups. He could just leave the weaker one’s light, it wouldn’t make a difference to the Elders if they decided to take their souls and yet they have chosen to turn them dark first, in case they don’t get the Elders on their side. It means they still come away with more power.” Zarek interjected. Kyla widened her eyes in realisation of the trouble they were in. They had been chasing dead ends, while Byron had been collecting more and more power. And probably for something a lot worse.
“What could Byron or more importantly Onyx, need this much power for?” Kyla asked nervously, holding her arm as the air around her grew cold. She knew it meant they weren’t alone. Sky had said multiple times, that she sent Kasyn to keep an eye on them. To tell her when they were in trouble and yet it still felt just as creepy every time.
“He obviously thinks the Elders have enough power to get him into this realm. Problem is, I’m not so sure he isn’t right. Excuse me, I need to call my parents.” Zarek said, pulling his phone out of the dry inside of his wet jacket. Kyla was still soaked but didn’t have the luxury of a jacket, having been in too much of a rush when she had realised Zarek had left. She sighed and helped Wyatt bring the mother and son through too.
“How many Elders are there?” Kyla asked. Wyatt shrugged.
“There’s an Elder council for every race and I think the number varies. Could be anywhere between 5 and 50, to be honest. Some here, some in the human realm. Not comforting, I know.” he smiled with sympathy as he found one of the discarded tablecloths and placed it delicately over their bodies.
“Well, that’s just great. Why just witches then? What about warlocks? Wizards? Zarek said they live in other towns of the witch community. Are they included in this torture as well?” Kyla stood with Wyatt as he wrapped another cloth around her shivering body, leading her away from the saddening scene.
“Well, they have their own Elder councils, so probably. But then the witches are more powerful so, who knows? Maybe the others aren’t powerful enough, especially if it’s to doing with getting through the veil. Witches are the only ones that can pull on the energy of the full moon, which is a main ingredient in rift jumping, though. Wizards are more hocus-pocus, potions and spells while Warlocks tend to be more into enhancing themselves physically, their brains being slightly more sluggish,” he revealed. Kyla sighed, so many theories, questions. She just needed something solid. Something to grasp, on where to go.
Kyla gasped as a foul wind broke through her senses, immediately causing her to turn away from Wyatt, clutching her stomach as her gag reflex was induced. She tried to hold her breath, but the odour stung at her eyes anyway causing her to cough bile. Wyatt chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s the giants. Not the nicest of smelling creatures. You did well, I puked the first time I smelt them.” He smiled, rubbing her back as she leant her head against the dark hallway, her forehead beading with sweat as she fought back nausea. Zarek came through frowning.
“What the hell are giants doing in the witch community? Damn that’s disgusting.” Kyla coughed again, her eyes watering still.
“I’m guessing it’s the same ones that let Byron take us all into their territory, when we were captured. There’s traces of goblin too” Zarek guessed. Kyla shivered against the nauseating stench that surrounded them, deciding to face the cold, rather than risk smelling it longer and dropped the cover that Wyatt had given her. Zarek led them back outside, where the fresh air was lifesaving. Kyla sucked in a deep breath before looking over at Shemar, who was laying down in the grass. She went to race over but Zarek caught her arm.
“He’s okay, he just needs to shut his mind off for a bit. You fell into your vision, while you had the mind link still connected with him. He managed to pull out before any damage was done but for something to see visions, without having the gift to do so, is painful and dangerous. He’ll be fine soon.” Zarek explained. Kyla gasped at what she had unintentionally done.
“I didn’t know. Sorry.” Kyla said turning to Orion. He nodded in understanding. She turned to Zarek, her teeth chattering in the still cold winds. “What did your parents say?” Kyla questioned.
“They are calling a meeting with the High Council as well as the Elder council of the witches. We should hear the result in a couple of days. For the mean time though my father insisted we get back to the school by nightfall. We need its protection more so than ever right now.” Zarek admitted, leading them towards where a silver SUV waited for them, the same one that had taken them to the royal mansion before Tyrone had been killed. The silver and wardings carved into the side, were meant to ward off vampires but they hadn’t.
